Q137391

Also known as (126) Velleda, Velleda

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: Paul Henry and Prosper Henry
Discovery date: 5 November 1872
Pronunciation: / ˈ v ɛ l ɪ d ə /
Named after: Veleda
Alternative designations: A872 VA; 1949 YF;, 1950 BD 1
Minor planet category: Main belt

~1 min read

Article

126 Velleda is a main-belt asteroid. It is probably a rather typical, albeit sizable, S-type asteroid. This asteroid was named for Veleda, a priestess and prophet of the Germanic tribe of the Bructeri. It was discovered by Paul Henry on 5 November 1872, in Paris, France. It was his first credited discovery. He and his brother Prosper Henry discovered a total of 14 asteroids.

This body is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.44 AU with a period of 3.81 years and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.11. The orbital plane is inclined by 2.9° to the plane of the ecliptic. It has a cross-section diameter of ~45 km. This asteroid has had multiple studies of its rotation period, yielding an adopted period of 5.3672 h. During each rotation the brightness varies by 0.22 magnitudes.