(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 May 2026	11.7	2.911 AU	2.007 AU	16h58m	-09°06'	148.0°	10.6°
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) : 144.15088
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 343.46246
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 65.45935
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 127.82454
            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
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   16 58 46.8   -09 06 04     2.007    2.911  148.0   10.6   254   11.7 
2026-05-06 10:27 UT   16 58 30.8   -09 04 43     2.004    2.912  148.4   10.5   253   11.7 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   16 58 09.9   -09 03 00     2.001    2.913  149.0   10.3   253   11.7 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   16 57 31.8   -08 59 60     1.996    2.914  150.0   10.0   252   11.7 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   16 56 52.7   -08 57 03     1.992    2.915  150.9    9.7   251   11.7 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   16 56 12.5   -08 54 09     1.987    2.917  151.9    9.4   249   11.6 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   16 55 31.2   -08 51 19     1.983    2.918  152.9    9.1   248   11.6 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   16 54 48.9   -08 48 33     1.979    2.920  153.9    8.8   247   11.6 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   16 54 05.7   -08 45 52     1.975    2.921  154.8    8.5   245   11.6 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   16 53 21.5   -08 43 14     1.971    2.922  155.8    8.2   244   11.6 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   16 52 36.5   -08 40 41     1.968    2.924  156.7    7.9   242   11.6 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   16 51 50.6   -08 38 12     1.965    2.925  157.6    7.6   240   11.6 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   16 51 04.0   -08 35 48     1.962    2.926  158.5    7.3   238   11.5 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   16 50 16.6   -08 33 29     1.960    2.928  159.3    7.0   236   11.5 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   16 49 28.5   -08 31 15     1.957    2.929  160.2    6.7   234   11.5 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   16 48 39.8   -08 29 07     1.955    2.930  161.0    6.5   232   11.5 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   16 47 50.5   -08 27 03     1.953    2.932  161.8    6.2   229   11.5 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   16 47 00.7   -08 25 05     1.952    2.933  162.5    6.0   226   11.5 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   16 46 10.4   -08 23 13     1.951    2.934  163.2    5.7   223   11.5 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   16 45 19.7   -08 21 27     1.950    2.936  163.8    5.5   219   11.4 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   16 44 28.6   -08 19 46     1.949    2.937  164.4    5.3   216   11.4 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   16 43 37.2   -08 18 11     1.949    2.938  164.9    5.2   212   11.4 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   16 42 45.5   -08 16 42     1.949    2.940  165.3    5.0   208   11.4 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   16 41 53.6   -08 15 20     1.949    2.941  165.7    4.9   203   11.4 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   16 41 01.5   -08 14 04     1.949    2.942  165.9    4.8   199   11.4 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   16 40 09.3   -08 12 54     1.950    2.944  166.1    4.7   194   11.4 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   16 39 17.1   -08 11 50     1.951    2.945  166.2    4.7   189   11.4 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   16 38 24.8   -08 10 53     1.952    2.946  166.2    4.7   184   11.4 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   16 37 32.6   -08 10 02     1.953    2.948  166.1    4.8   179   11.4 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   16 36 40.5   -08 09 18     1.955    2.949  165.9    4.8   175   11.4 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   16 35 48.5   -08 08 41     1.957    2.950  165.6    4.9   170   11.4 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   16 34 56.8   -08 08 11     1.960    2.952  165.2    5.0   166   11.4 

    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.