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. Neujmin
- Discovery site
- Simeiz Obs.
- Discovery date
- 20 September 1930
- Named after
- Pelageya Shajn , (Soviet–Russian astronomer)
- Alternative designations
- 1930 SL · 1928 DP, 1938 YA · 1953 VB, 1953 XP · A909 BC
- Minor planet category
~3 min read
Article
1190 Pelagia, provisional designation 1930 SL, is a dark Nysian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 September 1930, by Soviet–Georgian astronomer Grigory Neujmin at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The asteroid was named after astronomer Pelageya Shajn.
Classification and orbit