881 Athene

Also known as (881) Athene, Athene

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: 22 July 1917
Pronunciation: / ə ˈ θ iː n iː /
Named after: Goddess Athena , ( Greek mythology )
Alternative designations: A917 OD · 1917 CL

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Article

881 Athene (prov. designation: A917 OD or 1917 CL) is a stony background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 22 July 1917, by astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany. The likely elongated S/L-type asteroid has a rotation period of 13.9 hours and measures approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) in diameter. It was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology. According to Astrophysicist Rayme Traub at JHU APL NASA, Europa Clipper will make a pass by Athene in 2027 after passing Earth on its way to Jupiter. Europa Clipper will test its sensors on Athene in preparation for Europa in 2030.

Orbit and classification