Hebe at Opposition in 2010

Hebe will be in Aquarius as it brightens in June, but quite quickly moves across a corner of Pisces and then into Cetus at the beginning of August. In Cetus its main movement is to the south so that the asteroid becomes higher in southern skies. It is stationary on August 25 and reaches opposition on September 19. Its magnitude will then be 7.7 making it briefly the brightest asteroid in the sky. At this time it will be about 4° from the second magnitude star β Cet.

Hebe reaches its second stationary point at teh end of October after which it recommences moving to the east. By then it will also have started moving back to the north. During the next two months it will fade from binocular view, reaching magnitude 9.5 by the end of the year.

The asteroid (8) Flora will be fairly close to Hebe for some of this time. It will follow a somewhat similar path to to Hebe in Aquarius, but will be rather fainter.

The diameter of Hebe is about 200 km. Its orbital period is 3.78 years, its distance from the Sun varies between 1.93 and 2.92 AU, so that at the most favourable oppositions the asteroid will be about 0.93 AU from the Earth. The orbit is inclined at 14.8° to the ecliptic.

Hebe was discovered in 1847 on July 1 by K L Hencke at Driesen.