(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	24 Dec 2025	12.8	2.712 AU	3.366 AU	15h21m	-10°58'	41.7°	14.0°
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
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   15 21 29.6   -10 58 26     3.366    2.712   41.7   14.0   293   12.8 
2025-12-24 09:56 UT   15 22 08.4   -11 00 12     3.363    2.713   42.0   14.0   293   12.8 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   15 23 03.4   -11 02 41     3.359    2.714   42.3   14.1   293   12.8 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   15 24 36.9   -11 06 51     3.351    2.715   43.0   14.3   292   12.8 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   15 26 10.1   -11 10 56     3.343    2.717   43.6   14.5   292   12.8 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   15 27 43.0   -11 14 55     3.335    2.718   44.2   14.6   292   12.8 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   15 29 15.5   -11 18 49     3.327    2.720   44.8   14.8   292   12.8 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   15 30 47.8   -11 22 38     3.319    2.721   45.5   14.9   291   12.8 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   15 32 19.7   -11 26 21     3.311    2.723   46.1   15.1   291   12.8 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   15 33 51.3   -11 29 59     3.303    2.724   46.7   15.2   291   12.8 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   15 35 22.6   -11 33 31     3.294    2.726   47.4   15.4   291   12.8 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   15 36 53.5   -11 36 58     3.286    2.728   48.0   15.5   290   12.8 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   15 38 24.0   -11 40 20     3.277    2.729   48.6   15.7   290   12.8 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   15 39 54.2   -11 43 36     3.269    2.731   49.3   15.8   290   12.8 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   15 41 24.0   -11 46 46     3.260    2.732   49.9   16.0   290   12.8 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   15 42 53.5   -11 49 52     3.251    2.734   50.5   16.1   289   12.8 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   15 44 22.5   -11 52 52     3.242    2.735   51.2   16.3   289   12.8 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   15 45 51.2   -11 55 46     3.233    2.737   51.8   16.4   289   12.8 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   15 47 19.4   -11 58 35     3.224    2.738   52.5   16.5   289   12.8 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   15 48 47.2   -12 01 18     3.215    2.740   53.1   16.7   288   12.8 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   15 50 14.6   -12 03 56     3.205    2.741   53.8   16.8   288   12.8 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   15 51 41.6   -12 06 28     3.196    2.743   54.4   17.0   288   12.8 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   15 53 08.1   -12 08 54     3.186    2.745   55.1   17.1   288   12.8 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   15 54 34.2   -12 11 16     3.177    2.746   55.8   17.2   288   12.8 

    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.