(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Jun 2026	13.5	2.893 AU	3.125 AU	10h31m	+12°35'	67.5°	18.9°
Opposition	26 May 2027	11.2	2.650 AU	1.644 AU	16h21m	-13°06'	171.7°	3.2°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Hera are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0816151
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7013557
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.42727
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 135.95401
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 190.41998
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 209.95296
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 146.32829
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.98017
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.44            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   10 31 29.7   +12 35 54     3.125    2.893   67.5   18.9   110   13.5 
2026-06-19 21:57 UT   10 32 29.2   +12 30 11     3.136    2.892   66.9   18.9   110   13.5 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   10 32 34.8   +12 29 39     3.137    2.892   66.9   18.8   110   13.5 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   10 33 40.5   +12 23 19     3.149    2.892   66.2   18.8   110   13.5 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   10 34 46.6   +12 16 56     3.161    2.891   65.5   18.7   110   13.5 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   10 35 53.3   +12 10 29     3.172    2.891   64.9   18.6   110   13.5 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   10 37 00.4   +12 03 58     3.184    2.891   64.2   18.5   110   13.5 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   10 38 07.9   +11 57 24     3.196    2.890   63.5   18.4   110   13.5 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   10 39 16.0   +11 50 46     3.208    2.890   62.9   18.2   110   13.5 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   10 40 24.4   +11 44 05     3.219    2.889   62.2   18.1   110   13.5 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   10 41 33.3   +11 37 20     3.231    2.889   61.6   18.0   110   13.5 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   10 42 42.7   +11 30 31     3.242    2.888   60.9   17.9   110   13.5 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   10 43 52.4   +11 23 40     3.253    2.888   60.3   17.8   110   13.5 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   10 45 02.6   +11 16 44     3.265    2.888   59.7   17.7   110   13.5 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   10 46 13.2   +11 09 46     3.276    2.887   59.0   17.6   110   13.5 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   10 47 24.2   +11 02 44     3.287    2.887   58.4   17.5   110   13.5 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   10 48 35.6   +10 55 39     3.298    2.886   57.7   17.3   110   13.5 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   10 49 47.3   +10 48 31     3.309    2.886   57.1   17.2   110   13.5 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   10 50 59.5   +10 41 19     3.320    2.885   56.5   17.1   110   13.5 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   10 52 12.0   +10 34 05     3.330    2.885   55.8   17.0   110   13.5 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   10 53 24.9   +10 26 47     3.341    2.885   55.2   16.8   110   13.5 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   10 54 38.1   +10 19 26     3.352    2.884   54.6   16.7   110   13.5 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   10 55 51.8   +10 12 02     3.362    2.884   54.0   16.6   110   13.5 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   10 57 05.7   +10 04 35     3.373    2.883   53.3   16.4   110   13.6 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   10 58 20.0   +09 57 05     3.383    2.883   52.7   16.3   110   13.6 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   10 59 34.7   +09 49 32     3.393    2.882   52.1   16.2   110   13.6 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   11 00 49.7   +09 41 56     3.403    2.882   51.5   16.0   110   13.6 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   11 02 05.0   +09 34 18     3.413    2.881   50.9   15.9   110   13.6 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   11 03 20.7   +09 26 36     3.423    2.881   50.2   15.7   110   13.6 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.