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
- E. Delporte
- Discovery site
- Uccle Obs.
- Discovery date
- 8 September 1932
- Named after
- Niece of astronomer Georges Roland
- Alternative designations
- 1932 RL · 1942 TC, 1950 BF 1 · 1955 QA 1 , A906 YJ
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( inner ), background
~3 min read
Article
1707 Chantal, provisional designation 1932 RL, is a stony background asteroid from the Florian region in the inner asteroid belt, approximately 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 8 September 1932, by astronomer Eugène Delporte at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle. The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of at least 10 hours. It was named for Chantal, the niece of Belgian astronomer Georges Roland.
Orbit and classification