175 Andromache

Also known as (175) Andromache, Andromache

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: J. C. Watson
Discovery date: 1 October 1877
Pronunciation: / æ n ˈ d r ɒ m ə k iː /
Named after: Andromache
Alternative designations: A877 TA; 1893 KA;, 1895 XB; 1946 MB;, 1946 OD
Minor planet category: Main belt

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Article

175 Andromache is a main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Canadian-American astronomer J. C. Watson on October 1, 1877. It was named after Andromache, wife of Hector during the Trojan War. Watson's telegram to Europe announcing the discovery became lost, and so notification did not arrive until several weeks later. As a result, another minor planet, later designated 176 Iduna, was initially assigned the number 175.

The initial orbital elements for 175 Andromache proved unreliable, and it was only in 1893 that an accurate ephemeris was produced. Because the orbital period is fairly close to being double that of the giant planet Jupiter, 175 Andromache initially became of interest in the study of gravitational perturbations. This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 3.19 AU with an eccentricity of 0.23 and an orbital period of 5.69 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 3.2° to the plane of the ecliptic.