Q140399

Also known as 1938 WO, 1949 WB, Kokkola

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: L. Oterma
Discovery site: Turku Obs.
Discovery date: 18 November 1938
Named after: Kokkola (Finnish town)
Alternative designations: 1938 WO · 1949 WB
Minor planet category: main-belt · Vestoid

~2 min read

Article

1522 Kokkola (provisional designation 1938 WO) is a stony Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 9.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 November 1938, by pioneering Finnish astronomer Liisi Oterma at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland. It was later named for the town of Kokkola.

Classification and orbit