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
- J. E. Mueller
- Discovery site
- Palomar Obs.
- Discovery date
- 23 August 1987
- Named after
- Bastet , (Egyptian goddess of cats)
- Alternative designations
- 1987 QA
- Minor planet category
- NEO · Apollo , Mars-crosser
~3 min read
Article
4257 Ubasti, provisional designation 1987 QA, is a stony asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group and as Mars-crosser, approximately 1.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Jean Mueller at the Palomar Observatory in California on 23 August 1987. The asteroid was named for Bastet – also known as Baast, Ubaste or Ubasti – the Egyptian goddess of cats.
Orbit and classification