Q137099

Also known as (122) Gerda, Gerda

outer 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: 31 July 1872
Pronunciation: / ˈ ɡ ɜːr d ə /
Alternative designations: A872 OA; 1948 TQ 1
Minor planet category: Main belt
Observation arc: 143.71 yr (52491 d)

~1 min read

Article

122 Gerda is a fairly large outer main-belt asteroid that was discovered by German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on July 31, 1872. It was named after Gerðr, the wife of the god Freyr in Norse mythology.

This asteroid is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 3.22 AU with a low eccentricity of 0.03 and an orbital period of 5.79 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 1.64° to the plane of the ecliptic. This body is listed as a member of the Hecuba group of asteroids that orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.