698 Ernestina
Also known as (698) Ernestina, Ernestina
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
- J. Helffrich
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 5 March 1910
- Named after
- Ernst Wolf, (son of Max Wolf )
- Alternative designations
- A910 ED · A908 WB, 1910 JX
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( outer ) , background
~4 min read
Article
698 Ernestina (prov. designation: A910 ED or 1910 JX) is a background asteroid, approximately 27 kilometers (17 miles) in diameter, located in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 5 March 1910, by German astronomer Joseph Helffrich at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory. The presumed carbonaceous C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 5.0 hours. It was named after Ernst Wolf, son of German astronomer and prolific discoverer of minor planets, Max Wolf.
Orbit and classification