Q152691

Also known as (412) Elisabetha, Elisabetha

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: Max Wolf
Discovery date: 7 January 1896
Alternative designations: 1896 CK
Minor planet category: Main belt
Observation arc: 117.65 yr (42970 d)
Aphelion: 2.8841 AU (431.46 Gm )

~1 min read

Article

412 Elisabetha is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf on 7 January 1896 in Heidelberg. It may have been named after his mother, Elise Wolf (née Helwerth). This minor planet is orbiting at a distance of 2.76 AU from the Sun with a period of 4.59 years and an orbital eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.044. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 13.8° to the plane of the ecliptic.

This asteroid is rotating with a period of 19.65618±0.00004 h. Shape models and stellar occultations provide an estimated diameter of 97+7 −14 km. Older diameter estimates range from 76.38±2.114 to 111.12±22.22 km.