Q155663

Also known as (580) Selene, Selene

outer 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
Discovery date: 17 December 1905
Pronunciation: / s ə ˈ l iː n iː /
Alternative designations: 1905 SE
Observation arc: 110.29 yr (40283 d)

~1 min read

Article

580 Selene is a minor planet orbiting the Sun in the asteroid belt. The name Selene is that of an ancient Greek goddess of the Moon. The name may have been inspired by the asteroid's provisional designation 1905 SE.

This body orbits the Sun nearly midway between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The orbital eccentricity is slightly lower than that of Mars. Based on its light curve, Selene has an estimated rotation period of 0.3947±0.0004 days, or just under 9.5 hours. During each rotation, the apparent magnitude varies by 0.27. The approximate diameter of this asteroid is 46 km. (Some sources list a diameter of up to 56 km.) The albedo is about 7%, comparable to that of the Earth's Moon.