Q147330

Also known as (207) Hedda, Hedda

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: Johann Palisa
Discovery date: 17 October 1879
Pronunciation: German: [ ˈhɛdaː ]
Named after: Hedwig Winnecke
Alternative designations: A879 UA, 1932 CL 1 , 1934 XJ, 1953 BF
Minor planet category: Main belt

~1 min read

Article

207 Hedda is a sizeable Main belt asteroid. It is a C-type asteroid, meaning it is primitive in composition and dark in colour. This asteroid was discovered by Johann Palisa on October 17, 1879, in Pola and was named after Hedwig Winnecke (née Dell), wife of astronomer Friedrich A. T. Winnecke.

Attempts to determine the rotation period for this asteroid have led to conflicting results. A study published in 2010 using photometric observations from Organ Mesa Observatory showed a rotation period of 19.489 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.18 ± 0.02 in magnitude.