Q109954

Also known as (88) Thisbe, Thisbe

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: Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
Discovery date: 15 June 1866
Pronunciation: / ˈ θ ɪ z b iː /
Named after: Thisbē
Minor planet category: Main belt
Adjectives: Thisbean / θ ɪ z ˈ b iː ə n / , / ˈ θ ɪ z b i ə n /

~2 min read

Article

88 Thisbe is the 13th largest main-belt asteroid. C. H. F. Peters discovered it on 15 June 1866, named after Thisbe, heroine of a Roman fable. This asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.768 AU over a period of 4.60 years and an orbital eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.165. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 5.219° to the ecliptic.

On 7 October 1981, asteroid 88 Thisbe was observed to occult the 9th-magnitude star SAO 187124 from 12 sites. The timing of the different chords across the asteroid provided a diameter estimate of 232±12 km. This is 10% larger than the diameter estimate based on radiometric techniques. During 2000, 88 Thisbe was observed by radar from the Arecibo Observatory. The return signal matched an effective diameter of 207 ± 22 km. This is consistent with the asteroid dimensions computed through other means.