Q140507

Also known as 1938 SM, Inari

main-belt asteroid discovered on 1938-09-16 by Yrjö Väisälä at Turku

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: Y. Väisälä
Discovery site: Turku Obs.
Discovery date: 16 September 1938
Named after: Lake Inari (Finnish lake)
Alternative designations: 1938 SM · 1933 SZ, 1935 BJ · 1936 FP 1
Minor planet category: main-belt · ( outer ) , Eos

~3 min read

Article

1532 Inari (provisional designation 1938 SM) is a stony Eoan asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 28 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in 1938, it was later named for Lake Inari in northern Finland.

Discovery