Q157193

Also known as (805) Hormuthia, Hormuthia

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: Max Wolf
Discovery site: Heidelberg Observatory
Discovery date: 17 April 1915
Alternative designations: 1915 WW
Observation arc: 100.85 yr (36835 d)
Aphelion: 3.7899 AU (566.96 Gm )

~1 min read

Article

805 Hormuthia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. This asteroid follows an elliptical orbit through the main asteroid belt that reaches perihelion just outside the Kirkwood gap at 2.5 AU. Its estimated diameter is 73 km, and it is one of the 500 largest asteroids. 805 Hormuthia was discovered by Max Wolf in 1915, at the University of Heidelberg. The planet is named after Hormuth Kopff, the wife of astronomer August Kopff.

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