272 Antonia
Also known as (272) Antonia, Antonia
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.
© Marek Nikodem (PPSAE) · via NASA APOD
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Auguste Charlois
- Discovery date
- 4 February 1888
- Pronunciation
- / æ n ˈ t oʊ n i ə /
- Alternative designations
- A888 CA, 1944 FE
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 97.35 yr (35557 d)
~1 min read
Article
272 Antonia is a main belt asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer Auguste Charlois on 4 February 1888 in Nice.
Photometric observations of this asteroid made during 2008 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico, gave a light curve with a short rotation period of 3.8548 ± 0.0001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.43 ± 0.04 in magnitude.