Q155550
Also known as (558) Carmen, Carmen, (558) 1905 QB
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.
© Marek Nikodem (PPSAE) · via NASA APOD
Key facts
- Discovered by
- M. F. Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 9 February 1905
- Alternative designations
- 1905 QB
- Observation arc
- 111.15 yr (40,597 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.0333 AU (453.78 Gm )
~1 min read
Article
558 Carmen is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. As with a number of asteroids discovered by Max Wolf, it is named after a female character in opera, in this case the title character of Bizet's Carmen. This is classified as an M-type asteroid that spans a girth of approximately 59 km. The near infrared spectrum of this object is described as featureless. Some evidence for iron-poor orthopyroxenes on the surface has been reported.
References