Q156718

Also known as (718) Erida, Erida

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: 29 September 1911
Alternative designations: 1911 MS
Observation arc: 113.31 yr (41,388 d)
Aphelion: 3.6666 AU (548.52 Gm )

Article

718 Erida is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered at Vienna on September 29, 1911, by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa, and was named for Erida Leuschner, daughter of astronomer Armin Otto Leuschner. It is orbiting at a distance of 3.06 AU with a period of 5.34 yr and an eccentricity of 0.20. The orbital plane of this asteroid is inclined by an angle of 6.9° to the plane of the ecliptic.

Photometric observations made during 2009 were used to produce a light curve for this asteroid that showed a rotation period of 17.447±0.002 h with a brightness variation of 0.37 in magnitude. It spans a girth of approximately 72 km.