Q156176

Also known as (651) Antikleia, Antikleia

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: August Kopff
Discovery site: Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory
Discovery date: 4 October 1907
Pronunciation: / æ n t ɪ ˈ k l iː ə /
Named after: Anticlea
Alternative designations: 1907 AN

~1 min read

Article

651 Antikleia is a main-belt asteroid discovered on 4 October 1907 by August Kopff at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory. It is named for Anticlea the mother of Odysseus. The name may have been inspired by the asteroid's provisional designation 1907 AN.

Antikleia is a member of the dynamic Eos family of asteroids that most likely formed as the result of a collisional breakup of a parent body.