(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Jan 2026	12.8	2.757 AU	3.107 AU	16h04m	-12°25'	60.4°	18.1°
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
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   16 04 22.7   -12 25 08     3.107    2.757   60.4   18.1   286   12.8 
2026-01-22 16:25 UT   16 05 18.8   -12 26 15     3.099    2.758   60.9   18.2   286   12.8 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   16 05 44.7   -12 26 45     3.096    2.759   61.1   18.2   286   12.8 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   16 07 06.1   -12 28 16     3.086    2.760   61.8   18.3   285   12.8 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   16 08 26.9   -12 29 42     3.075    2.762   62.5   18.4   285   12.8 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   16 09 47.2   -12 31 02     3.065    2.763   63.1   18.5   285   12.8 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   16 11 06.8   -12 32 17     3.054    2.765   63.8   18.6   285   12.8 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   16 12 25.9   -12 33 26     3.043    2.766   64.5   18.7   285   12.8 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   16 13 44.3   -12 34 30     3.033    2.768   65.2   18.8   284   12.8 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   16 15 02.2   -12 35 29     3.022    2.769   65.9   18.9   284   12.8 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   16 16 19.4   -12 36 22     3.011    2.771   66.6   19.0   284   12.8 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   16 17 35.9   -12 37 10     3.000    2.772   67.3   19.1   284   12.8 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   16 18 51.8   -12 37 53     2.989    2.774   68.0   19.2   283   12.8 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   16 20 07.1   -12 38 30     2.978    2.776   68.7   19.3   283   12.8 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   16 21 21.6   -12 39 02     2.966    2.777   69.4   19.4   283   12.8 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   16 22 35.5   -12 39 29     2.955    2.779   70.1   19.5   283   12.8 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   16 23 48.7   -12 39 50     2.944    2.780   70.8   19.6   283   12.8 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   16 25 01.2   -12 40 06     2.933    2.782   71.5   19.6   282   12.8 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   16 26 12.9   -12 40 17     2.921    2.783   72.2   19.7   282   12.8 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   16 27 23.9   -12 40 22     2.910    2.785   72.9   19.8   282   12.8 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   16 28 34.2   -12 40 23     2.898    2.786   73.7   19.9   282   12.8 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   16 29 43.6   -12 40 18     2.887    2.788   74.4   19.9   281   12.7 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   16 30 52.3   -12 40 08     2.875    2.789   75.1   20.0   281   12.7 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   16 32 00.2   -12 39 53     2.863    2.791   75.8   20.1   281   12.7 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   16 33 07.3   -12 39 33     2.851    2.792   76.6   20.1   281   12.7 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   16 34 13.6   -12 39 07     2.840    2.794   77.3   20.2   281   12.7 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   16 35 19.0   -12 38 37     2.828    2.795   78.0   20.2   280   12.7 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   16 36 23.5   -12 38 02     2.816    2.797   78.8   20.3   280   12.7 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   16 37 27.2   -12 37 22     2.804    2.798   79.5   20.3   280   12.7 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   16 38 30.0   -12 36 36     2.792    2.800   80.3   20.4   280   12.7 

    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.