731 Sorga
Also known as (731) Sorga, Sorga
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
- A. Massinger
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 15 April 1912
- Named after
- "the heavens" , ( Indonesian language )
- Alternative designations
- A912 GH · 1940 WP, 1912 OQ
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( outer ) background
~5 min read
Article
731 Sorga (prov. designation: A912 GH or 1912 OQ) is a highly elongated background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 38 kilometers (24 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 15 April 1912, by German astronomer Adam Massinger at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany. The C-type (CD) and X-type asteroid (Xe) has a rotation period of 8.2 hours. It was named Sorga, meaning "the heavens" in the Indonesian language.
Orbit and classification