(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Aug 2026	12.6	3.026 AU	2.519 AU	16h11m	-10°50'	110.4°	18.3°
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
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   16 11 46.6   -10 50 59     2.519    3.026  110.4   18.3   104   12.6 
2026-08-05 21:58 UT   16 12 01.1   -10 55 27     2.532    3.027  109.6   18.4   104   12.6 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   16 12 02.5   -10 55 52     2.533    3.028  109.6   18.4   104   12.6 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   16 12 19.6   -11 00 46     2.547    3.029  108.7   18.5   104   12.6 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   16 12 38.0   -11 05 42     2.561    3.030  107.9   18.6   104   12.6 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   16 12 57.5   -11 10 40     2.575    3.031  107.0   18.7   104   12.6 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   16 13 18.3   -11 15 40     2.589    3.032  106.2   18.7   103   12.6 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   16 13 40.2   -11 20 41     2.603    3.033  105.3   18.8   103   12.6 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   16 14 03.3   -11 25 44     2.617    3.034  104.5   18.9   103   12.7 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   16 14 27.6   -11 30 48     2.632    3.035  103.7   18.9   103   12.7 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   16 14 53.0   -11 35 53     2.646    3.036  102.9   19.0   102   12.7 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   16 15 19.6   -11 40 59     2.660    3.038  102.0   19.0   102   12.7 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   16 15 47.3   -11 46 06     2.675    3.039  101.2   19.1   102   12.7 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   16 16 16.2   -11 51 15     2.689    3.040  100.4   19.1   102   12.7 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   16 16 46.1   -11 56 24     2.704    3.041   99.6   19.2   102   12.7 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   16 17 17.1   -12 01 33     2.718    3.042   98.8   19.2   101   12.8 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   16 17 49.2   -12 06 44     2.733    3.043   98.0   19.2   101   12.8 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   16 18 22.4   -12 11 54     2.747    3.044   97.2   19.3   101   12.8 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   16 18 56.6   -12 17 06     2.762    3.045   96.4   19.3   101   12.8 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   16 19 31.9   -12 22 17     2.777    3.046   95.6   19.3   101   12.8 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   16 20 08.2   -12 27 29     2.791    3.047   94.8   19.3   101   12.8 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   16 20 45.5   -12 32 40     2.806    3.048   94.0   19.3   100   12.8 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   16 21 23.8   -12 37 52     2.821    3.049   93.2   19.3   100   12.9 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   16 22 03.1   -12 43 04     2.836    3.050   92.4   19.3   100   12.9 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   16 22 43.3   -12 48 16     2.850    3.051   91.7   19.3   100   12.9 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   16 23 24.5   -12 53 27     2.865    3.053   90.9   19.3   100   12.9 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   16 24 06.7   -12 58 39     2.880    3.054   90.1   19.3    99   12.9 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   16 24 49.8   -13 03 49     2.895    3.055   89.3   19.3    99   12.9 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   16 25 33.9   -13 08 60     2.909    3.056   88.6   19.3    99   12.9 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   16 26 18.8   -13 14 10     2.924    3.057   87.8   19.3    99   12.9 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   16 27 04.6   -13 19 19     2.939    3.058   87.1   19.2    99   12.9 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   16 27 51.4   -13 24 28     2.954    3.059   86.3   19.2    99   13.0 

    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.