(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 Apr 2026	12.0	2.884 AU	2.145 AU	17h06m	-10°10'	129.0°	15.7°
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
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   17 06 19.0   -10 10 45     2.145    2.884  129.0   15.7   265   12.0 
2026-04-17 13:59 UT   17 06 12.8   -10 08 40     2.140    2.885  129.6   15.6   265   12.0 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   17 06 08.1   -10 07 11     2.136    2.886  130.0   15.5   265   12.0 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   17 05 55.6   -10 03 37     2.127    2.887  131.0   15.2   264   12.0 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   17 05 41.6   -10 00 03     2.119    2.889  132.0   15.0   264   12.0 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   17 05 26.2   -09 56 30     2.110    2.890  132.9   14.7   263   12.0 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   17 05 09.3   -09 52 58     2.102    2.892  133.9   14.5   263   11.9 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   17 04 50.9   -09 49 27     2.094    2.893  134.9   14.2   262   11.9 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   17 04 31.0   -09 45 56     2.086    2.894  135.9   14.0   262   11.9 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   17 04 09.8   -09 42 27     2.078    2.896  136.9   13.7   261   11.9 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   17 03 47.1   -09 38 59     2.071    2.897  137.9   13.5   261   11.9 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   17 03 23.0   -09 35 32     2.064    2.899  138.9   13.2   260   11.9 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   17 02 57.6   -09 32 08     2.056    2.900  139.9   12.9   260   11.8 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   17 02 30.8   -09 28 44     2.049    2.901  140.9   12.6   259   11.8 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   17 02 02.6   -09 25 23     2.043    2.903  141.9   12.3   258   11.8 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   17 01 33.2   -09 22 04     2.036    2.904  142.9   12.1   258   11.8 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   17 01 02.4   -09 18 47     2.030    2.906  144.0   11.8   257   11.8 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   17 00 30.3   -09 15 32     2.024    2.907  145.0   11.5   256   11.8 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   16 59 57.0   -09 12 20     2.018    2.908  146.0   11.2   255   11.7 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   16 59 22.5   -09 09 10     2.012    2.910  147.0   10.9   255   11.7 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   16 58 46.8   -09 06 04     2.007    2.911  148.0   10.6   254   11.7 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   16 58 09.9   -09 03 00     2.001    2.913  149.0   10.3   253   11.7 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   16 57 31.8   -08 59 60     1.996    2.914  150.0   10.0   252   11.7 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   16 56 52.7   -08 57 03     1.992    2.915  150.9    9.7   251   11.7 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   16 56 12.5   -08 54 09     1.987    2.917  151.9    9.4   249   11.6 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   16 55 31.2   -08 51 19     1.983    2.918  152.9    9.1   248   11.6 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   16 54 48.9   -08 48 33     1.979    2.920  153.9    8.8   247   11.6 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   16 54 05.7   -08 45 52     1.975    2.921  154.8    8.5   245   11.6 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   16 53 21.5   -08 43 14     1.971    2.922  155.8    8.2   244   11.6 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   16 52 36.5   -08 40 41     1.968    2.924  156.7    7.9   242   11.6 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   16 51 50.6   -08 38 12     1.965    2.925  157.6    7.6   240   11.6 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   16 51 04.0   -08 35 48     1.962    2.926  158.5    7.3   238   11.5 

    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.