Q154948

Also known as (501) Urhixidur, Urhixidur

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: Max Wolf
Discovery site: Heidelberg Observatory
Discovery date: 18 January 1903
Alternative designations: 1903 LB; 1943 FC;, 1949 FW; 1951 RB 2 ;, 1951 SE; 1955 FB
Minor planet category: Main belt
Observation arc: 113.22 yr (41352 d)

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Article

501 Urhixidur is a relatively large (ranked 372nd by IRAS) main belt asteroid. It was discovered on 18 January 1903, by astronomer Max Wolf (1863–1932), at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. Like 500 Selinur and 502 Sigune, it is named after a character in Friedrich Theodor Vischer's then-bestseller satirical novel Auch Einer.

Its rotational period was reported as 15 hours in 1992, but corrected to 13.174 hours in 2013.