Q154572

Also known as (468) Lina, Lina

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: 18 January 1901
Pronunciation: German: [ ˈliːnaː ]
Named after: (household employee)
Alternative designations: 1901 FZ · A915 PA, A918 EB

Article

468 Lina, provisional designation 1901 FZ, is a dark Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 18 January 1901, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The carbonaceous asteroid was named for the housemaid of the discoverer's family.

Classification and orbit