Q154535

Also known as (460) Scania, Scania

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: M. F. Wolf
Discovery site: Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date: 22 October 1900
Pronunciation: / ˈ s k eɪ i ə /
Named after: Scania (Skåne), (Province of Sweden)
Alternative designations: A900 UF · 1900 FN

Article

460 Scania (/ˈskeɪiə/; prov. designation: A900 UF or 1900 FN) is a background asteroid and a slow rotator from the central regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory on 22 October 1900. The uncommon K-type asteroid has an exceptionally long rotation period of 164.1 hours and measures approximately 21 kilometers (13 miles) in diameter. It was named after the Swedish region of Scania, where a meeting was held by the Astronomische Gesellschaft in 1904.

Orbit and classification