Q157742

Also known as (900) Rosalinde, Rosalinde

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: 10 August 1918
Named after: Character "Rosalinde" in the operetta Die Fledermaus (by Johann Strauss II )
Alternative designations: A918 PJ · 1918 EC
Minor planet category

~5 min read

Article

900 Rosalinde (prov. designation: A918 PJ or 1918 EC) is an elongated background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, that has a mean diameter of approximately 19 kilometers (12 miles). It was discovered on 10 August 1918, by astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany. The lengthy S/D-type asteroid has a rotation period of 16.6 hours. It was likely named after "Rosalinde", a character in the operetta Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II.

Orbit and classification