Q154671

Also known as (480) Hansa, Hansa

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 , L. Carnera
Discovery site: Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date: 21 May 1901
Pronunciation: / ˈ h æ n s ə /
Named after: Hanseatic League , (medieval trade association)
Alternative designations: 1901 GL · A905 JA, A911 UJ

Article

480 Hansa, provisional designation 1901 GL, is a stony asteroid and the namesake of the Hansa family located in the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 56 kilometers (35 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 21 May 1901, by astronomers Max Wolf and Luigi Carnera at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 16.19 hours and possibly an elongated shape. It was named after the Hanseatic League, a medieval European trade association.

Orbit and classification