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.
© Marek Nikodem (PPSAE) · via NASA APOD
Key facts
- Discovered by
- T. Smirnova
- Discovery site
- Crimean Astrophysical Obs.
- Discovery date
- 30 June 1970
- Named after
- Ozurgeti (Georgian city)
- Alternative designations
- 1970 MC · 1928 TF, 1955 SS 1 · 1955 UA 1 , 1970 PJ · 1974 QN, 1977 ER 1 · A924 RB
- Minor planet category
~2 min read
Article
2139 Makharadze, provisional designation 1970 MC, is a rare-type Nysa asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) in diameter. It was discovered on 30 June 1970, by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj.
Orbit and classification