699 Hela
Also known as (699) Hela, Hela
Mars-crossing 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
- Discovery date
- 5 June 1910
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ h iː l ə /
- Alternative designations
- 1902 WE · 1910 LC · 1923 TB · 1948 KD · 1957 WX 1
- Minor planet category
- Mars crosser
Article
699 Hela is a Mars crossing asteroid. It was discovered on 5 June 1910 at Heidelberg Observatory by German astronomer Joseph Helffrich, and may have been named after Hel, the Norse ruler of the underworld. This asteroid is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.61 astronomical units (AU) with a period of 4.22 years and an eccentricity of 0.41. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 15.3° to the plane of the ecliptic.
History and naming