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
- P. Wild
- Discovery site
- Zimmerwald Obs.
- Discovery date
- 3 November 1977
- Named after
- Hugo Hadwiger
- Alternative designations
- 1977 VX · 1932 UC, 1940 SB · 1963 FF, 1969 UU 2 · 1973 SQ 6 , 1975 EA
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · Maria
~2 min read
Article
2151 Hadwiger, provisional designation 1977 VX, is a Marian asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 November 1977, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland.
Orbit and characterization