68 Leto

Also known as (68) Leto, Leto

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: Karl Theodor Robert Luther
Discovery date: 29 April 1861
Pronunciation: / ˈ l ɛ t oʊ /
Named after: Λητώ Lētō
Minor planet category: Main belt
Adjectives: Letoian / l iː ˈ t oʊ . i ə n /

~1 min read

Article

68 Leto is a large main belt asteroid that is orbiting the Sun. The asteroid was discovered by German astronomer Robert Luther on April 29, 1861, and is named after Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis in Greek mythology. It orbits at a distance of 2.78112 AU over 4.64 years and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.187. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 7.97° to the ecliptic.

Photometric observations of 68 Leto during 1997 provided a rotation period of 14.856 ± 0.024 h. It has an estimated cross-sectional size of 123 km. The spectral type is S, suggesting a stony, silicate composition.