Q157066

Also known as (782) Montefiore, Montefiore

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 Observatory
Discovery date: 18 March 1914
Alternative designations: 1914 UK
Observation arc: 100.50 yr (36708 d)
Aphelion: 2.2639 AU (338.67 Gm )

~1 min read

Article

782 Montefiore is a minor planet, specifically an asteroid orbiting in the asteroid belt that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on 18 March 1914 and named for Clarice Sebag-Montefiore, wife of Alfons von Rothschild of Vienna. It is orbiting 2.18 AU from the Sun with an eccentricity of 0.04 and a period of 3.22 yr. The orbital plane of this asteroid is inclined by an angle of 5.26° to the plane of the ecliptic.

10μ radiometric data collected from Kitt Peak in 1975 gave a diameter estimate of 15 km. Photometric light curve studies from 1997 onward give a consistent rotation period of 4.07 hours.