Q158409

Also known as (977) Philippa, Philippa

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: B. Jekhovsky
Discovery site: Algiers Obs.
Discovery date: 6 April 1922
Named after: Philippe de Rothschild , (French financier)
Alternative designations: A922 GA · 1922 LV, A914 YA · 1914 YA, A919 XA · 1919 XA
Minor planet category

Article

977 Philippa (prov. designation: A922 GA or 1922 LV) is a large background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 65 kilometers (40 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 6 April 1922, by Russian–French astronomer Benjamin Jekhowsky at the Algiers Observatory in Northern Africa. The C-type asteroid is likely irregular in shape and has a rotation period of 15.4 hours. It was named after French financier Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902–1988).

Orbit and classification