Q158240

Also known as (952) Caia, Caia

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: G. Neujmin
Discovery site: Simeiz Obs.
Discovery date: 27 October 1916
Pronunciation: / ˈ k eɪ ə /
Named after: Caia
Alternative designations: 1916 Σ 61 · 1973 WH, A908 EB · A919 GB, A921 RA

~3 min read

Article

952 Caia /ˈkeɪə/ is a carbonaceous background asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 82 kilometers (51 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by Soviet–Russian astronomer Grigory Neujmin at the Crimean Simeiz Observatory on 27 October 1916 and given the provisional designation 1916 Σ61. It was named after the heroine in the novel Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz.

Orbit and classification