Q158330

Also known as (964) Subamara, Subamara

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: J. Palisa
Discovery site: Vienna Obs.
Discovery date: 27 October 1921
Pronunciation: / s ʌ b ə ˈ m ɛər ə /
Named after: Latin for "very bitter" , (due to light pollution )
Alternative designations: A921 UL · A905 UL, 1921 KS · 1905 UL, 1923 NP

~4 min read

Article

964 Subamara (prov. designation: A921 UL or 1921 KS), is a stony background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory on 27 October 1921. The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 6.9 hours. It was named for the observatory's "very bitter" observing conditions due to light pollution.

Orbit and classification