37 Fides

Also known as (37) Fides, Fides

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: R. Luther
Discovery date: October 5, 1855
Designation: (37) Fides
Pronunciation: / ˈ f aɪ d iː z /
Named after: Fides
Alternative names: 1925 WH

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Article

37 Fides (/ˈfaɪdiːz/) is a large main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Theodor Robert Luther on October 5, 1855, and named after Fides, the Roman goddess of loyalty. Fides was the last of the main-belt asteroids to be assigned an iconic symbol, a Latin cross U+271D ✝ (). 37 Fides is also a S-type asteroid in the Tholen classification system.

Photometric observations of this asteroid at multiple observatories during 1981–82 gave an unusual light curve with three minima and maxima. The curve changed with varying phase angle of the asteroid relative to the viewer and the position of the Sun, indicating the changing influence of shadows cast by surface features. The composite light curve has a best fit period estimate of 7.33 hours. Austrian astronomer Hans Josef Schober has suggested that the multiple minima and maxima during each period may be an indication of a binary nature.