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
- C. Shoemaker , E. M. Shoemaker
- Discovery date
- 4 March 1986
- Named after
- Amun
- Alternative designations
- 1986 EB
- Minor planet category
- Aten , Venus-crosser asteroid
- Observation arc
- 10923 days (29.91 yr)
~2 min read
Article
3554 Amun is an Aten asteroid, meaning it crosses Earth's orbit, and a Venus-crosser. It was discovered on 4 March 1986 by Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at Mount Palomar Observatory, and named for the ancient Egyptian deity Amun. Amun was the fifth Aten asteroid to be numbered.
Photometric observations of 3554 Amun during 2017–2018 were combined to determine a rotation period of 2.53029±0.00002 hours. It has been classified as an M-type asteroid in the Tholen taxonomy, X-type in the Bus taxonomy, and C-, X-, and D-type in the Bus-DeMeo taxonomy. The featureless optical spectrum has a similar slope to the Tagish Lake meteorite, although 3554 Amun is not considered the source. The infrared spectrum of 3554 Amun was found to match a D-type asteroid taxonomy. The estimated diameter is 3.341 kilometers, making it one of the smallest known asteroids to have an M-type classification.