Q155688

Also known as (585) Bilkis, Bilkis

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: A. Kopff
Discovery site: Heidelberg
Discovery date: 16 February 1906
Pronunciation: / ˈ b ɪ l k ɪ s /
Alternative designations: 1906 TA
Observation arc: 110.16 yr (40236 d)

Article

585 Bilkis is a minor planet, specifically an asteroid orbiting in the asteroid belt. It was discovered by German astronomer August Kopff in 1906 February and was given the Koran name for the Queen of Sheba. Photometric observations at the Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2006–7 were used to build a light curve for this object. The asteroid displayed a rotation period of 8.5742 ± 0.0005 hours and a brightness variation of 0.40 ± 0.02 in magnitude.

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