(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	30 May 2026	11.4	2.945 AU	1.950 AU	16h39m	-08°12'	166.2°	4.7°
Today	1 Jul 2026	11.9	2.985 AU	2.110 AU	16h16m	-08°35'	143.0°	11.8°

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
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   16 16 12.9   -08 35 31     2.110    2.985  143.0   11.8   117   11.9 
2026-07-01 17:33 UT   16 15 50.9   -08 37 21     2.116    2.986  142.3   12.0   117   11.9 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   16 15 43.0   -08 38 03     2.119    2.986  142.0   12.1   117   11.9 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   16 15 14.2   -08 40 41     2.128    2.987  141.0   12.4   116   12.0 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   16 14 46.8   -08 43 24     2.137    2.989  140.0   12.6   115   12.0 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   16 14 20.5   -08 46 14     2.147    2.990  139.1   12.9   115   12.0 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   16 13 55.6   -08 49 09     2.157    2.991  138.1   13.1   114   12.0 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   16 13 31.9   -08 52 10     2.166    2.992  137.1   13.4   114   12.0 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   16 13 09.6   -08 55 16     2.177    2.994  136.1   13.6   113   12.1 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   16 12 48.5   -08 58 27     2.187    2.995  135.2   13.8   113   12.1 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   16 12 28.8   -09 01 44     2.197    2.996  134.2   14.1   112   12.1 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   16 12 10.3   -09 05 05     2.208    2.997  133.2   14.3   112   12.1 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   16 11 53.3   -09 08 32     2.219    2.998  132.3   14.5   112   12.1 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   16 11 37.5   -09 12 04     2.230    3.000  131.3   14.7   111   12.2 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   16 11 23.2   -09 15 40     2.241    3.001  130.4   15.0   111   12.2 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   16 11 10.2   -09 19 21     2.252    3.002  129.4   15.2   110   12.2 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   16 10 58.5   -09 23 07     2.264    3.003  128.5   15.4   110   12.2 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   16 10 48.2   -09 26 57     2.275    3.004  127.5   15.6   110   12.2 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   16 10 39.3   -09 30 51     2.287    3.006  126.6   15.8   109   12.3 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   16 10 31.7   -09 34 50     2.299    3.007  125.7   15.9   109   12.3 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   16 10 25.5   -09 38 53     2.311    3.008  124.7   16.1   109   12.3 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   16 10 20.7   -09 42 59     2.323    3.009  123.8   16.3   108   12.3 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   16 10 17.2   -09 47 09     2.335    3.010  122.9   16.5   108   12.3 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   16 10 15.1   -09 51 23     2.348    3.011  122.0   16.6   108   12.3 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   16 10 14.3   -09 55 40     2.360    3.013  121.0   16.8   107   12.4 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   16 10 14.8   -10 00 01     2.373    3.014  120.1   16.9   107   12.4 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   16 10 16.7   -10 04 25     2.386    3.015  119.2   17.1   107   12.4 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   16 10 19.9   -10 08 52     2.399    3.016  118.3   17.2   107   12.4 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   16 10 24.4   -10 13 23     2.412    3.017  117.4   17.4   106   12.4 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   16 10 30.2   -10 17 56     2.425    3.018  116.6   17.5   106   12.5 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   16 10 37.3   -10 22 32     2.438    3.020  115.7   17.6   106   12.5 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   16 10 45.7   -10 27 10     2.451    3.021  114.8   17.8   106   12.5 

    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.