(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	29 Dec 2025	12.8	2.921 AU	2.318 AU	10h41m	+09°00'	118.8°	17.2°
Opposition	19 Feb 2026	11.6	2.921 AU	1.933 AU	10h16m	+12°58'	177.6°	0.8°

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)                : 0.0810432
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7027744
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.42602
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 135.95133
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 190.39387
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 165.59880
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 146.29963
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.97751
            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
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   10 41 04.3   +09 00 33     2.318    2.921  118.8   17.2   292   12.8 
2025-12-29 13:55 UT   10 41 07.7   +09 01 11     2.310    2.921  119.3   17.1   292   12.8 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   10 41 09.9   +09 01 40     2.305    2.921  119.8   17.0   292   12.8 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   10 41 14.2   +09 02 56     2.293    2.921  120.8   16.8   292   12.8 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   10 41 17.1   +09 04 21     2.281    2.921  121.8   16.6   292   12.7 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   10 41 18.6   +09 05 56     2.269    2.921  122.8   16.4   292   12.7 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   10 41 18.7   +09 07 40     2.257    2.921  123.8   16.2   291   12.7 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   10 41 17.4   +09 09 33     2.245    2.921  124.9   16.0   291   12.7 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   10 41 14.7   +09 11 35     2.234    2.921  125.9   15.8   291   12.7 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   10 41 10.6   +09 13 47     2.222    2.921  127.0   15.6   291   12.7 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   10 41 05.1   +09 16 07     2.211    2.921  128.0   15.4   291   12.6 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   10 40 58.2   +09 18 38     2.200    2.921  129.1   15.1   291   12.6 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   10 40 49.8   +09 21 17     2.189    2.921  130.1   14.9   291   12.6 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   10 40 40.0   +09 24 06     2.178    2.922  131.2   14.7   291   12.6 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   10 40 28.7   +09 27 04     2.168    2.922  132.3   14.4   291   12.6 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   10 40 16.1   +09 30 11     2.157    2.922  133.4   14.2   291   12.5 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   10 40 01.9   +09 33 28     2.147    2.922  134.5   13.9   291   12.5 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   10 39 46.4   +09 36 54     2.137    2.922  135.6   13.6   291   12.5 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   10 39 29.5   +09 40 28     2.127    2.922  136.7   13.4   291   12.5 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   10 39 11.1   +09 44 12     2.117    2.922  137.8   13.1   291   12.5 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   10 38 51.3   +09 48 05     2.108    2.922  138.9   12.8   291   12.4 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   10 38 30.1   +09 52 06     2.099    2.922  140.0   12.5   290   12.4 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   10 38 07.6   +09 56 16     2.089    2.922  141.2   12.2   290   12.4 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   10 37 43.7   +10 00 34     2.081    2.922  142.3   11.9   290   12.4 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   10 37 18.4   +10 05 01     2.072    2.922  143.4   11.6   290   12.4 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   10 36 51.8   +10 09 35     2.064    2.922  144.6   11.3   290   12.3 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   10 36 23.8   +10 14 18     2.055    2.922  145.7   10.9   290   12.3 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   10 35 54.6   +10 19 08     2.047    2.922  146.9   10.6   290   12.3 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   10 35 24.1   +10 24 06     2.040    2.922  148.0   10.3   290   12.3 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   10 34 52.4   +10 29 11     2.032    2.922  149.2    9.9   289   12.3 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   10 34 19.4   +10 34 23     2.025    2.922  150.4    9.6   289   12.2 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   10 33 45.3   +10 39 42     2.018    2.922  151.6    9.2   289   12.2 

    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.