(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Dec 2025	12.8	2.687 AU	3.471 AU	14h55m	-09°38'	32.0°	11.2°
Opposition	30 May 2026	11.4	2.944 AU	1.950 AU	16h39m	-08°12'	166.2°	4.7°

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 Bellona are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1489865
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7772838
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.42325
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 144.15087
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 343.46246
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 65.45935
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 127.82453
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.67116
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.63            
        

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
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   14 55 55.2   -09 38 32     3.471    2.687   32.0   11.2   298   12.8 
2025-12-08 00:56 UT   14 55 59.0   -09 38 45     3.471    2.687   32.1   11.2   298   12.8 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   14 57 32.6   -09 44 09     3.465    2.689   32.6   11.4   297   12.8 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   14 59 09.9   -09 49 42     3.459    2.690   33.2   11.6   297   12.8 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   15 00 47.0   -09 55 09     3.453    2.692   33.8   11.7   297   12.8 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   15 02 23.9   -10 00 32     3.447    2.693   34.4   11.9   296   12.8 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   15 04 00.7   -10 05 50     3.441    2.695   35.0   12.1   296   12.8 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   15 05 37.2   -10 11 02     3.435    2.696   35.6   12.3   296   12.8 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   15 07 13.5   -10 16 10     3.429    2.698   36.2   12.4   296   12.8 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   15 08 49.6   -10 21 12     3.422    2.700   36.8   12.6   295   12.8 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   15 10 25.4   -10 26 10     3.416    2.701   37.4   12.8   295   12.8 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   15 12 01.1   -10 31 02     3.409    2.703   38.0   13.0   295   12.8 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   15 13 36.5   -10 35 49     3.402    2.704   38.6   13.1   294   12.8 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   15 15 11.6   -10 40 31     3.395    2.706   39.3   13.3   294   12.8 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   15 16 46.5   -10 45 08     3.388    2.707   39.9   13.5   294   12.8 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   15 18 21.1   -10 49 39     3.381    2.709   40.5   13.6   294   12.8 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   15 19 55.5   -10 54 05     3.373    2.710   41.1   13.8   293   12.8 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   15 21 29.6   -10 58 26     3.366    2.712   41.7   14.0   293   12.8 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   15 23 03.4   -11 02 41     3.359    2.714   42.3   14.1   293   12.8 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   15 24 36.9   -11 06 51     3.351    2.715   43.0   14.3   292   12.8 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   15 26 10.1   -11 10 56     3.343    2.717   43.6   14.5   292   12.8 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   15 27 43.0   -11 14 55     3.335    2.718   44.2   14.6   292   12.8 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   15 29 15.5   -11 18 49     3.327    2.720   44.8   14.8   292   12.8 

    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.