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. W. Elst
- Discovery site
- Haute-Provence Obs.
- Discovery date
- 17 September 1988
- Pronunciation
- / d ɛ b j ʊ ˈ s iː / etc.
- Named after
- Claude Debussy , (French composer)
- Alternative designations
- 1988 SH · 1979 SZ 10 , 1979 VF 1 · 1981 EC
~4 min read
Article
4492 Debussy (provisional designation: 1988 SH) is a dark and elongated background asteroid and binary system from the intermediate asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 17 September 1988, by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst at Haute-Provence Observatory in France. It was later named after French composer Claude Debussy.
Orbit and classification