Q157807

Also known as (907) Rhoda, Rhoda

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: 12 November 1918
Pronunciation: / ˈ r oʊ d ə /
Named after: Rhoda Barnard, (wife of E. E. Barnard )
Alternative designations: A918 VA · A901 BA, A913 SC · 1918 EU, 1913 SC · 1901 BA

Article

907 Rhoda is a large background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, that measures approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 12 November 1918, by astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The dark C/X-type asteroid has a long rotation period of 22.4 hours and is likely spherical in shape. It was named after Rhoda Barnard, wife of American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard (1857–1923).

Orbit and classification