994 Otthild
Also known as (994) Otthild, Otthild
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
- K. Reinmuth
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 18 March 1923
- Named after
- Name picked from the almanac , Lahrer Hinkender Bote
- Alternative designations
- A923 FB · 1923 NL, 1960 KC · 1967 CM, 1967 EK 1 · 1923 NL
- Minor planet category
~4 min read
Article
994 Otthild (prov. designation: A923 FB or 1923 NL) is a stony background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 24 kilometers (15 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 18 March 1923, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory. The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 5.95 hours and is rather regular in shape. It was named after a common German female name, unrelated to the discoverer's contemporaries, and taken from the almanac Lahrer Hinkender Bote.
Orbit and classification