Q157265

Also known as (820) Adriana, Adriana

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. Wolf
Discovery site: Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date: 30 March 1916
Named after: unknown
Alternative designations: 1916 ZB · 1934 NA 1 , 1934 PV · 1935 SE, 1975 YP
Minor planet category: main-belt

Article

820 Adriana, provisional designation 1916 ZB, is an exceptionally dark asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, about 59 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany, on 30 March 1916.

The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.0–3.3 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,027 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.05 and is tilted by 6 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. According to the survey carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, the asteroid's surface has an extremely low albedo of 0.02. The body's spectral type remains unknown, as does its rotation period.