Q157342

Also known as (836) Jole, Jole

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: 23 September 1916
Pronunciation: / ˈ dʒ oʊ l iː / JOH -lee
Named after: Iole wife of Heracles , ( Greek mythology )
Alternative designations: A916 SJ · A903 QA, 1916 AF · 1903 QA

Article

836 Jole (prov. designation: A916 SJ or 1916 AF) is a bright background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 23 September 1916, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The stony S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 9.6 hours and measures approximately 5.8 kilometers (3.6 miles) in diameter. It was named after Iole, wife of Heracles from Greek mythology.

Orbit and classification