Q157138

Also known as (797) Montana, Montana

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: H. Thiele
Discovery site: Bergedorf Obs.
Discovery date: 17 November 1914
Pronunciation: / m ɒ n ˈ t æ n ə /
Named after: Bergedorf Observatory , Latin for "mountain village"
Alternative designations: 1914 VR · 1953 JG, 1957 MG · A898 WA

~3 min read

Article

797 Montana, provisional designation 1914 VR, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 22 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 17 November 1914, by Danish astronomer Holger Thiele at Bergedorf Observatory in Hamburg, Germany. It was later named for the discovering observatory.

Classification and orbit