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.
© Marek Nikodem (PPSAE) · via NASA APOD
Key facts
- Discovered by
- G. Neujmin
- Discovery site
- Simeiz Obs.
- Discovery date
- 29 June 1914
- Named after
- Historic city of Ani
- Alternative designations
- A914 MB · 1949 WH, 1964 PO · 1975 XM, 1914 UV
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( outer ) , Meliboea · Bg
Article
791 Ani (prov. designation: A914 MB or 1914 UV) is a very large asteroid of the Meliboea family, located in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 29 June 1914, by Russian astronomer Grigory Neujmin at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The dark carbonaceous C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 11.2 hours and measures approximately 65.7 × 103.5 kilometers, with a mean diameter of 100 km (62 mi). It was named after the historic Armenian city of Ani.
Orbit and classification