(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	24 Oct 2025	12.4	2.618 AU	3.599 AU	13h40m	-04°11'	8.1°	3.1°
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
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   13 40 55.3   -04 11 24     3.599    2.618    8.1    3.1   338   12.4 
2025-10-24 21:30 UT   13 42 26.0   -04 19 07     3.599    2.619    8.4    3.2   335   12.4 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   13 42 36.6   -04 20 00     3.599    2.620    8.5    3.2   335   12.4 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   13 44 17.8   -04 28 34     3.599    2.621    8.9    3.4   332   12.4 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   13 45 59.0   -04 37 04     3.599    2.623    9.3    3.5   330   12.4 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   13 47 40.2   -04 45 31     3.598    2.624    9.8    3.7   328   12.5 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   13 49 21.4   -04 53 55     3.597    2.626   10.2    3.8   326   12.5 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   13 51 02.5   -05 02 16     3.597    2.627   10.7    4.0   324   12.5 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   13 52 43.7   -05 10 34     3.596    2.629   11.2    4.2   323   12.5 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   13 54 24.7   -05 18 49     3.595    2.630   11.6    4.4   321   12.5 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   13 56 05.7   -05 26 60     3.594    2.632   12.1    4.5   320   12.5 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   13 57 46.7   -05 35 07     3.592    2.633   12.6    4.7   319   12.5 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   13 59 27.7   -05 43 12     3.591    2.635   13.1    4.9   317   12.5 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   14 01 08.6   -05 51 13     3.590    2.636   13.6    5.1   316   12.5 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   14 02 49.5   -05 59 10     3.588    2.638   14.1    5.3   315   12.5 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   14 04 30.3   -06 07 04     3.586    2.639   14.7    5.5   314   12.6 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   14 06 11.1   -06 14 54     3.584    2.641   15.2    5.6   313   12.6 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   14 07 51.8   -06 22 41     3.582    2.642   15.7    5.8   312   12.6 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   14 09 32.5   -06 30 24     3.580    2.644   16.2    6.0   312   12.6 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   14 11 13.1   -06 38 04     3.578    2.645   16.8    6.2   311   12.6 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   14 12 53.6   -06 45 39     3.576    2.647   17.3    6.4   310   12.6 

    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.