870 Manto

Also known as (870) Manto, Manto

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: M. F. Wolf
Discovery site: Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date: 12 May 1917
Pronunciation: / ˈ m æ n t oʊ /
Named after: Μαντώ Mantō ( Greek mythology )
Alternative designations: A917 JC · 1935 NB, 1935 QV · 1953 UE 1 , A907 TF · A914 UC, 1917 BX · 1907 TF, 1914 UC

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Article

870 Manto (prov. designation: A917 JC or 1917 BX) is a stony background asteroid and slow rotator from the inner region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 12 May 1917, by astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The likely heavily elongated S-type asteroid has a long rotation period of 122.3 hours and measures approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) in diameter. It was named after Manto, a prophetess in Greek mythology.

Orbit and classification