Q156688

Also known as (711) Marmulla, Marmulla

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: J. Palisa
Discovery site: Vienna Obs.
Discovery date: 1 March 1911
Pronunciation: / m ɑːr ˈ m ʌ l ə /
Alternative designations: 1911 LN; 1927 AB
Observation arc: 102.99 yr (37,618 d)

~1 min read

Article

711 Marmulla is an asteroid belonging to the Flora family in the Main Belt. It was discovered 1 March 1911 by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa. The asteroid name may be derived from the Old High German word 'marmul', which means 'marble'. This asteroid is orbiting 2.24 AU from the Sun with a period of 3.35 yr and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.195. The orbital plane of 711 Marmulla is inclined at an angle of 6.1° to the plane of the ecliptic.

Photometric observations of this asteroid in 2019 resulted in a light curve showing a rotation period of 2.721±0.003 h with a brightness variation of 0.06 in magnitude. This result is consistent with a similar study earlier in the year. A. Kryszczynska and associates had found a slightly longer rotation period of 2.88 hours in 2012. The low amplitude of the variation suggests a nearly spherical shape. The spectrum of 711 Marmulla most closely matches an A-type asteroid.