Q157421

Also known as (850) Altona, Altona

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: S. Belyavskyj
Discovery site: Simeiz Obs.
Discovery date: 27 March 1916
Pronunciation: / æ l ˈ t oʊ n ə /
Named after: German city of Altona
Alternative designations: A916 FG · A923 RP, 1916 Σ24 · 1923 RP

~4 min read

Article

850 Altona (prov. designation: A916 FG or 1916 Σ24) is a large background asteroid, approximately 77 kilometers (48 miles) in diameter, that is located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 27 March 1916, by Russian astronomer Sergey Belyavsky at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The X-type asteroid has a rotation period of 11.2 hours. It was named after the city of Altona near Hamburg, Germany.

Orbit and classification