165 Loreley

Also known as (165) Loreley, Loreley

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: C. H. F. Peters
Discovery date: 9 August 1876
Pronunciation: / ˈ l ɔːr ə l aɪ /
Alternative designations: A876 PA; 1948 QS;, 1959 PB; 1960 WG
Minor planet category: main belt
Observation arc: 139.51 yr (50957 d)

~1 min read

Article

165 Loreley is a large main-belt asteroid that was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on August 9, 1876, in Clinton, New York and named after the Lorelei, a figure in German folklore. It is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 3.125 AU and a low eccentricity of 0.08. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 11.2° to the plane of the ecliptic.

In the late 1990s, a network of astronomers worldwide gathered light curve data that was ultimately used to derive the spin states and shape models of 10 new asteroids, including (165) Loreley. The light curve of this asteroid varies by no more than 0.2 in magnitude, while the derived shape model shows multiple flat spots on the surface. The asteroid has an oblate shape with a size ratio of 1.26 ± 0.08 between the major and minor axes, as determined from the W. M. Keck Observatory.