Q158396

Also known as (972) Cohnia, Cohnia

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: Max Wolf
Discovery site: Heidelberg
Discovery date: 18 January 1922
Pronunciation: / ˈ k oʊ n i ə /
Alternative designations: 1922 LK
Observation arc: 110.24 yr (40266 days)

Article

972 Cohnia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun, one of several such in the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 18 January 1908 by a team in Heidelberg led by Max Wolf. In 2007, lightcurve data showed that Cohnia rotates every 18.472 ± 0.004 hours.

It is named after the German astronomer Fritz Cohn.