Q156848

Also known as (738) Alagasta, Alagasta

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: Franz Kaiser
Discovery site: Heidelberg
Discovery date: 7 January 1913
Pronunciation: / æ l ə ˈ ɡ æ s t ə /
Named after: Gau-Algesheim
Alternative designations: 1913 QO

~1 min read

Article

738 Alagasta (/æləˈɡæstə/) is a main belt asteroid. It was discovered from Heidelberg on 7 January 1913 by German astronomer Franz Kaiser. The asteroid was named in honor of Gau-Algesheim, previously Alaghastesheim, which is the home city of the discoverer's family. This body is orbiting at a distance of 3.04 AU with a period of 5.29 years and an eccentricity of 0.055. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 3.53° to the plane of the ecliptic.

Photometric measurements made of the asteroid during 2015 produced a light curve that showed a rotation period of 18.86±0.01 h with a brightness variation of 0.11 in magnitude. The asteroid is roughly 63 km in diameter and has a low albedo.