(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	3 Sep 2026	12.9	3.058 AU	2.939 AU	16h27m	-13°19'	87.1°	19.2°
Opposition	15 Aug 2027	11.5	3.173 AU	2.160 AU	21h41m	-13°30'	178.9°	0.3°

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)                : 0.1489548
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7778334
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.42322
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 144.14719
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 343.54232
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 107.96699
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 127.89980
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.65860
            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
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   16 27 04.6   -13 19 19     2.939    3.058   87.1   19.2    99   12.9 
2026-09-03 01:18 UT   16 27 07.2   -13 19 36     2.940    3.058   87.0   19.2    99   12.9 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   16 27 51.4   -13 24 28     2.954    3.059   86.3   19.2    99   13.0 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   16 28 39.0   -13 29 36     2.968    3.060   85.5   19.2    98   13.0 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   16 29 27.5   -13 34 43     2.983    3.061   84.8   19.1    98   13.0 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   16 30 16.9   -13 39 50     2.998    3.062   84.0   19.1    98   13.0 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   16 31 07.2   -13 44 55     3.012    3.063   83.3   19.1    98   13.0 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   16 31 58.3   -13 49 60     3.027    3.064   82.5   19.0    98   13.0 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   16 32 50.2   -13 55 03     3.042    3.065   81.8   19.0    97   13.0 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   16 33 42.9   -14 00 05     3.056    3.066   81.1   18.9    97   13.0 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   16 34 36.5   -14 05 06     3.071    3.067   80.3   18.9    97   13.0 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   16 35 30.9   -14 10 06     3.086    3.068   79.6   18.8    97   13.0 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   16 36 26.1   -14 15 04     3.100    3.069   78.8   18.8    97   13.1 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   16 37 22.0   -14 20 01     3.115    3.070   78.1   18.7    97   13.1 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   16 38 18.7   -14 24 57     3.129    3.071   77.4   18.6    96   13.1 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   16 39 16.2   -14 29 50     3.144    3.072   76.7   18.6    96   13.1 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   16 40 14.4   -14 34 42     3.158    3.073   75.9   18.5    96   13.1 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   16 41 13.4   -14 39 33     3.173    3.074   75.2   18.4    96   13.1 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   16 42 13.1   -14 44 21     3.187    3.075   74.5   18.3    96   13.1 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   16 43 13.5   -14 49 08     3.201    3.076   73.8   18.3    95   13.1 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   16 44 14.6   -14 53 53     3.215    3.077   73.1   18.2    95   13.1 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   16 45 16.4   -14 58 36     3.230    3.078   72.3   18.1    95   13.1 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   16 46 18.9   -15 03 17     3.244    3.079   71.6   18.0    95   13.1 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   16 47 22.0   -15 07 55     3.258    3.079   70.9   17.9    95   13.1 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   16 48 25.9   -15 12 32     3.272    3.080   70.2   17.8    94   13.1 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   16 49 30.3   -15 17 06     3.286    3.081   69.5   17.7    94   13.2 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   16 50 35.4   -15 21 39     3.300    3.082   68.8   17.6    94   13.2 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   16 51 41.2   -15 26 09     3.313    3.083   68.1   17.5    94   13.2 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   16 52 47.5   -15 30 36     3.327    3.084   67.4   17.4    94   13.2 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   16 53 54.5   -15 35 01     3.341    3.085   66.7   17.3    94   13.2 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   16 55 02.1   -15 39 24     3.355    3.086   66.0   17.2    93   13.2 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   16 56 10.3   -15 43 44     3.368    3.087   65.3   17.1    93   13.2 

    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.