161 Athor

Also known as (161) Athor, Athor

main-belt asteroid

Picture of the Day · NASA

Jupiter and Venus from Earth

2026-06-07

It was visible around the world. The sunset conjunction of Jupiter (left) and Venus (right) in 2012 was visible almost no matter where you lived on Earth. Anyone on our planet with a clear western horizon at sunset could see them. That year, a creative photographer traveled away from the town lights of Szubin, Poland to photograph a near closest approach of the two planets. The bright planets were then separated by only three degrees and his daughter struck a humorous pose. A faint red sunset still glowed in the background. Jupiter and Venus are together again this week after sunset, passing within a degree of each other about two days from today.

Key facts

Discovered by: James Craig Watson
Discovery site: Detroit Observatory
Discovery date: 19 April 1876
Pronunciation: / ˈ æ θ ər / , / ˈ ɑː θ ər /
Named after: Hathor
Alternative designations: A876 HA; 1899 TA;, 1961 PF; 1973 YN 4

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Article

161 Athor is an M-type Main belt asteroid that was discovered by James Craig Watson on 19 April 1876, at the Detroit Observatory and named after Hathor, an Egyptian fertility goddess. It is the namesake of a proposed Athor asteroid family, estimated to be ~3 billion years old.

Photometric observations of the minor planet in 2010 gave a rotation period of 7.2798±0.0001 h with an amplitude of 0.19±0.02 in magnitude. This result is consistent with previous determinations. An occultation by Athor was observed, on 15 October 2002, showing an estimated diameter of 47.0 kilometres (29.2 mi). The spectra is similar to that of carbonaceous chondrites, with characteristics of ferric oxides and little or no hydrated minerals.