Q157125

Also known as (794) Irenaea, Irenaea

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: 27 August 1914
Pronunciation: / ɪr ɪ ˈ n iː ə /
Named after: Irene Hillebrand, daughter of Edmund Weiss , (Austrian astronomer )
Alternative designations: A914 QB · 1930 KH, 1936 QK · 1947 QD, 1953 TT 2 · 1914 VB

Article

794 Irenaea (prov. designation: A914 QB or 1914 VB) is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 27 August 1914, by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory. The presumed C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 9.1 hours and measures approximately 36 kilometers (22 miles) in diameter. It was likely named after Irene Hillebrand, daughter of Austrian astronomer Edmund Weiss (1837–1917).

Orbit and classification