Q158074

Also known as (931) Whittemora, Whittemora

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: F. Gonnessiat
Discovery site: Algiers Obs.
Discovery date: 19 March 1920
Named after: Thomas Whittemore , (American archaeologist)
Alternative designations: A920 FB · 1920 GU, A904 HB · 1904 HB
Minor planet category: main-belt ( outer ) background

~4 min read

Article

931 Whittemora (prov. designation: A920 FB or 1920 GU) is a metallic background asteroid, approximately 46 kilometers (29 miles) in diameter, located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by French astronomer François Gonnessiat at the Algiers Observatory in North Africa on 19 March 1920. The M-type asteroid has a rotation period of 19.2 hours. It was named after American archaeologist Thomas Whittemore (1871–1950).

Orbit and classification