(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	31 Aug 2025	13.5	2.892 AU	3.730 AU	08h41m	+16°58'	29.3°	9.8°
Opposition	19 Feb 2026	11.6	2.920 AU	1.932 AU	10h17m	+12°57'	177.6°	0.8°

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 Hera are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0801521
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7045465
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.42148
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 135.97346
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 190.38520
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 121.30224
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 146.31321
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.97589
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.45            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-08-31 00:00 UT   08 41 19.7   +16 58 25     3.730    2.892   29.3    9.8   283   13.5 
2025-08-31 12:22 UT   08 42 06.5   +16 55 47     3.727    2.892   29.6    9.9   283   13.5 
2025-09-01 00:00 UT   08 42 50.5   +16 53 18     3.723    2.892   29.9   10.0   283   13.5 
2025-09-02 00:00 UT   08 44 21.1   +16 48 09     3.717    2.893   30.5   10.2   283   13.6 
2025-09-03 00:00 UT   08 45 51.5   +16 42 57     3.710    2.893   31.1   10.4   283   13.6 
2025-09-04 00:00 UT   08 47 21.5   +16 37 44     3.703    2.893   31.7   10.5   283   13.6 
2025-09-05 00:00 UT   08 48 51.2   +16 32 30     3.696    2.894   32.3   10.7   284   13.6 
2025-09-06 00:00 UT   08 50 20.6   +16 27 14     3.689    2.894   32.9   10.9   284   13.6 
2025-09-07 00:00 UT   08 51 49.7   +16 21 56     3.681    2.895   33.5   11.1   284   13.6 
2025-09-08 00:00 UT   08 53 18.6   +16 16 36     3.674    2.895   34.1   11.2   284   13.6 
2025-09-09 00:00 UT   08 54 47.1   +16 11 15     3.666    2.895   34.7   11.4   284   13.6 
2025-09-10 00:00 UT   08 56 15.3   +16 05 53     3.659    2.896   35.3   11.6   284   13.6 
2025-09-11 00:00 UT   08 57 43.2   +16 00 29     3.651    2.896   35.9   11.8   285   13.6 
2025-09-12 00:00 UT   08 59 10.8   +15 55 04     3.643    2.896   36.5   11.9   285   13.6 
2025-09-13 00:00 UT   09 00 38.0   +15 49 38     3.635    2.897   37.1   12.1   285   13.6 
2025-09-14 00:00 UT   09 02 05.0   +15 44 10     3.627    2.897   37.7   12.3   285   13.6 
2025-09-15 00:00 UT   09 03 31.6   +15 38 42     3.618    2.897   38.3   12.4   285   13.6 
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   09 04 57.8   +15 33 12     3.610    2.898   38.9   12.6   285   13.6 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   09 06 23.8   +15 27 41     3.601    2.898   39.6   12.8   285   13.6 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   09 07 49.3   +15 22 09     3.593    2.899   40.2   12.9   286   13.6 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   09 09 14.6   +15 16 37     3.584    2.899   40.8   13.1   286   13.6 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   09 10 39.4   +15 11 04     3.575    2.899   41.4   13.3   286   13.6 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   09 12 03.9   +15 05 30     3.566    2.900   42.1   13.4   286   13.6 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   09 13 28.1   +14 59 55     3.557    2.900   42.7   13.6   286   13.6 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   09 14 51.8   +14 54 20     3.548    2.900   43.3   13.7   286   13.6 

    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.