306 Unitas
Also known as (306) Unitas, Unitas
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
- Elia Millosevich
- Discovery date
- 1 March 1891
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ j uː n ɪ t æ s /
- Alternative designations
- A891 EA
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 124.78 yr (45575 d)
Article
306 Unitas is a typical main belt asteroid that was discovered by Elia Millosevich on 1 March 1891 in Rome. The asteroid was named by the director of the Modena Observatory in honor of the Italian astronomer Angelo Secchi (author of Unità delle forze fisiche) and the unification of Italy.
This object is orbiting the Sun with a distance of 2.36 AU and an eccentricity of 0.15 with an orbital period of 3.62 years. Its orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 7.28° to the plane of the ecliptic. Although 306 Unitas has an orbit similar to the Vesta family asteroids, it was found to be an unrelated interloper on the basis of its non-matching spectral type. Based on infrared measurements, it has a diameter of 47.2 km. It is classified as a stony S-type asteroid.