Q157097

Also known as (789) Lena, Lena

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: G. Neujmin
Discovery site: Simeiz Obs.
Discovery date: 24 June 1914
Pronunciation: / ˈ l eɪ n ə /
Named after: Elena Neujmina, (discoverer's family)
Alternative designations: 1914 UU · 1970 CE

~3 min read

Article

789 Lena, provisional designation 1914 UU, is a metallic asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 24 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 June 1914, by Soviet–Russian astronomer Grigory Neujmin at Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula, and named after the discoverer's mother.

Orbit and classification