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
- G. van Biesbroeck
- Discovery site
- Yerkes Obs.
- Discovery date
- 1 December 1924
- Named after
- Edwin Van Biesbroeck , (discoverer's son)
- Alternative designations
- 1924 UA · 1949 RB, 1949 YL
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( outer ) , background
~3 min read
Article
1046 Edwin, provisional designation 1924 UA, is a background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 30 kilometers (20 miles) kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 December 1924, by Belgian–American astronomer George Van Biesbroeck at the Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin, United States, who named it after his son, Edwin Van Biesbroeck. The potentially metallic asteroid has a short rotation period of 5.29 hours.
Orbit and classification