Bellona, discovery & location of the asteroid

Bellona , also known with number 28, is a very small asteroid of about 126 km ±2 km of diameter. Its orbit, as you can see in the graph down is between the orbit of Mars & Jupiter. Its orbital eccentricity of 0,1492 is elevated & typical one when belonging to the asteroid group. Bellona comes near to the Sun to a minimum range of 2.36 A.U. (astronomical Units) and was next to its perihelion when it was possible to be identified with a 10.0 magnitude of visible with small telescopes; however, in the aphelion or moved away point more of his orbit it is located to 3,19 A.U. Its orbital period, or the time that takes in giving a return around the Sun is of 4.63 years, and its period of rotation on its axis is of eighteen hours. It has an absolute magnitude of 7.09, a coefficient of magnitude of 0,15 and index of color (B-V) of 0.15.

The orbit of Bellona is inclined with respect to the ecliptic in 9,4º, a very high inclination that can imply to locate it far from the zodiacals constellations, but that one was not the case since I closely together found it of Regulus in the constellation of Leo, during that Bellona night was to 1,41 A.U. of the Earth. It was discovered by astronomer R. Luther in Dusseldorf, Germany on March 1^st, 1854.

bellona2002.GIF (9932 bytes)

Bellona during year 2002 was located in the constellations of Cancer & Leo, very next to the ecliptic since in that time its orbit was located on the plane of the ecliptic crossing of the south to north. October 3^rd, 2001 passed to 45 ' to the north of a Cancri & November 17^th, 2001 to 3,7º to the south of Regulus or a Leonis; later one, March 21^st, 2002 happened to 41 ' to the south of h Leonis and with a magnitude of 10.7, enough weaker and moved away already of the opposition. Its magnitude during the opposition was of only 10.0 if we considered its size & its very eccentric orbit, therefore, with a slight difficulty to locate it with any telescope.

During year 2002, Bellona was in the constellation of Cancer & Leo, and was something complicated its location. With the telescope that I have at the moment, a refractor of 1400mm. of focal length and 90mm. of diameter I observed & I located Bellona in the first night of observation that was made to 22h.10m. (U.T.) of February 15^th, 2002. At those moments one was to 24 ' arc to the north of SAO 99132 of magnitude 6.6 & to 13 ' to the north of SAO 99146 of magnitude 7.4, therefore they formed a triangle easy to identify, the magnitude of Bellona that night was of 10,0.

The following day to 20h.57m.(U.T.) and with adverse climatologic conditions I could observe the displacement of Bellona in the stellar field, had moved 16 ' of arc to the northwest, therefore, the location of Bellona was demonstrated .

Thanks to the program of Guide version 7,0 and with the graph that you can see down, could be located without difficulty to the Bellona asteroid in the first night of observation. Therefore, the date of discovery & location of Bellona he was February 15^th, 2002.

On the other hand, down, by means of a program in Java which I have found in the network, with the courtesy of Osamu Ajiki de AstroArts & Ron Baalke of the JPL, you can see the orbit of Bellona as well as its distance in relation to the Sun & the Earth and its position with respect to the Solar System for any date.

In Greek mythology Bellona or Belona & in Roman mythology Duellona single-breasted uniform jacket was a Roman divinity that passed through sister or wife of Mars. Imagined it with a lance, a whip or a torch, and used to also take to helmet or shield; for that reason the Romans identified it with the Greek goddess Enio. One treats, apparently, of one old Sabina divinity whose primitive name was Nerio & whose cult was introduced in Rome by the Sabina family of the Claudios . He had a temple in the Mars field , & in him he waited for the Senate to the generals who returned triunphadors of a campaign, as well as to the foreign embassies, that could not enter the enclosure of the city; there the declarations of war were made also. As a result of the war against Mitridats, the cult of the great minorasiatic lunar goddess was introduced in Rome , that was assimilated to Belona; a temple was built and a school of priests & capadocios priestesses was created, who the day of the festivity of the goddess celebrated a procession dressed in black tunics, provided with the double Eastern axe and accompanying to their dance with trumpets & drums. Bellona was identified, like Nerio, with Minerva.

Bellona