61 Danaë

Also known as (61) Danaë, Danaë

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: H. Goldschmidt
Discovery site: Paris
Discovery date: 9 September 1860
Pronunciation: / ˈ d æ n eɪ . iː /
Named after: Danaë (Greek mythology)
Alternative designations: 1953 RL 1 · A917 SM

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Article

61 Danaë (/ˈdæneɪ.iː/) is a stony (S-type) asteroid in the outer asteroid belt's background population, approximately 84 kilometer in diameter. It was discovered by French astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt on 9 September 1860, from his balcony in Paris, France. Goldschmidt was ill when asked to name the asteroid, and requested his fellow asteroid-hunter Robert Luther to name it instead. Luther chose to name it after Danaë, the mother of Perseus in Greek mythology. Danaë was the first asteroid to have a diacritical character in its official name.

The asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.15 years and is rotating on its axis once every 11.45 hours. In 1985, a study of lightcurve data suggested that Danaë may have a moon. If so, the main body would be an ellipsoid measuring 85 km × 80 km × 75 km (53 mi × 50 mi × 47 mi), and the moon would orbit 101 kilometres (63 mi) away, measuring 55 km × 30 km × 30 km (34 mi × 19 mi × 19 mi). The density of both would be 1.1 g/cm.