Q157248

Also known as (817) Annika, Annika

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: M. F. Wolf
Discovery site: Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date: 6 February 1916
Pronunciation: / ˈ æ n ɪ k ə / German: [ ˈanikaː ]
Named after: a girl named "Anika"
Alternative designations: A916 · CD 1916 YW

Article

817 Annika (prov. designation: A916 CD or 1916 YW) is a background asteroid in the region of the Eunomia family, located in the central portion of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 6 February 1916, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany. The stony S-type asteroid (Sl) has a rotation period of 10.56 hours and measures approximately 23 kilometers (14 miles) in diameter .

Orbit and classification