Q158051

Also known as (927) Ratisbona, Ratisbona

outer 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: 16 February 1920
Pronunciation: / r æ t ɪ s ˈ b oʊ n ə /
Named after: Regensburg , (German city)
Alternative designations: A920 DB · 1920 GO, 1958 VD · 1958 XQ

~4 min read

Article

927 Ratisbona is a large and dark background asteroid, approximately 76 kilometers (47 miles) in diameter, located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 16 February 1920, by astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The carbonaceous C-type asteroid (CB) has a rotation period of 12.99 hours and is rather spherical in shape. It was named after the Bavarian city of Regensburg.

Orbit and classification