(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Feb 2026	12.7	2.794 AU	2.840 AU	16h34m	-12°39'	77.3°	20.2°
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
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   16 34 13.6   -12 39 07     2.840    2.794   77.3   20.2   281   12.7 
2026-02-15 21:29 UT   16 35 12.2   -12 38 41     2.829    2.795   78.0   20.2   280   12.7 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   16 35 19.0   -12 38 37     2.828    2.795   78.0   20.2   280   12.7 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   16 36 23.5   -12 38 02     2.816    2.797   78.8   20.3   280   12.7 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   16 37 27.2   -12 37 22     2.804    2.798   79.5   20.3   280   12.7 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   16 38 30.0   -12 36 36     2.792    2.800   80.3   20.4   280   12.7 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   16 39 31.9   -12 35 46     2.780    2.802   81.0   20.4   279   12.7 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   16 40 32.9   -12 34 51     2.768    2.803   81.8   20.4   279   12.7 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   16 41 32.9   -12 33 52     2.756    2.805   82.5   20.5   279   12.7 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   16 42 32.0   -12 32 47     2.744    2.806   83.3   20.5   279   12.7 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   16 43 30.2   -12 31 38     2.732    2.808   84.0   20.5   279   12.7 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   16 44 27.4   -12 30 24     2.720    2.809   84.8   20.5   278   12.7 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   16 45 23.6   -12 29 06     2.708    2.811   85.6   20.6   278   12.6 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   16 46 18.8   -12 27 43     2.696    2.812   86.3   20.6   278   12.6 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   16 47 13.0   -12 26 16     2.684    2.814   87.1   20.6   278   12.6 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   16 48 06.2   -12 24 45     2.672    2.815   87.9   20.6   278   12.6 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   16 48 58.4   -12 23 09     2.660    2.817   88.7   20.6   277   12.6 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   16 49 49.5   -12 21 28     2.648    2.818   89.5   20.6   277   12.6 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   16 50 39.6   -12 19 44     2.635    2.820   90.2   20.6   277   12.6 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   16 51 28.5   -12 17 55     2.623    2.821   91.0   20.6   277   12.6 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   16 52 16.4   -12 16 02     2.611    2.823   91.8   20.6   276   12.6 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   16 53 03.2   -12 14 05     2.599    2.824   92.6   20.5   276   12.6 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   16 53 48.9   -12 12 03     2.587    2.826   93.4   20.5   276   12.6 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   16 54 33.5   -12 09 58     2.575    2.827   94.2   20.5   276   12.5 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   16 55 16.8   -12 07 49     2.563    2.829   95.1   20.5   276   12.5 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   16 55 59.1   -12 05 36     2.551    2.830   95.9   20.4   275   12.5 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   16 56 40.1   -12 03 19     2.539    2.832   96.7   20.4   275   12.5 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   16 57 19.9   -12 00 58     2.526    2.833   97.5   20.4   275   12.5 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   16 57 58.5   -11 58 34     2.514    2.835   98.3   20.3   275   12.5 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   16 58 35.9   -11 56 06     2.502    2.836   99.2   20.3   274   12.5 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   16 59 12.1   -11 53 34     2.491    2.838  100.0   20.2   274   12.5 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   16 59 46.9   -11 50 59     2.479    2.839  100.8   20.1   274   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.