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
- S. Belyavskyj , N. Ivanov
- Discovery site
- Simeiz Obs.
- Discovery date
- 29 August 1927
- Named after
- Alexis Hansky , (Russian astronomer)
- Alternative designations
- 1927 QD · 1930 DK, 1935 BM
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( outer ) background
Article
1118 Hanskya (prov. designation: 1927 QD) is a large background asteroid, approximately 77 kilometers (48 miles) in diameter, located in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. Discovered by Sergey Belyavsky and Nikolaj Ivanov in 1927, it was named after Russian astronomer Aleksey Hansky. The presumed dark C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 15.6 hours.
Discovery