Q158403

Also known as (974) Lioba, Lioba

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: K. Reinmuth
Discovery site: Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date: 18 March 1922
Pronunciation: / l i ˈ oʊ b ə /
Named after: Saint Leoba , (missionary to Germany)
Alternative designations: A922 FC · 1930 DA 1 , A906 FG · A916 UO, 1922 LS · 1906 FG

Article

974 Lioba (prov. designation: A922 FC or 1922 LS) is a stony background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 25 kilometers (16 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 18 March 1922, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southern Germany. The S-type asteroid has a longer than average rotation period of 38.7 hours. It was named after missionary Saint Leoba (Lioba).

Orbit and classification