Q583532

Also known as (359) Georgia, Georgia

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: Auguste Charlois
Discovery date: March 10 1893
Pronunciation: / ˈ dʒ ɔːr dʒ ə / JOR -jə
Named after: King George II
Alternative designations: 1893 M
Minor planet category: Main belt

~1 min read

Article

359 Georgia is a typical Main belt asteroid. It is classified as an X-type asteroid.

It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on March 10 1893 in Nice. It was named by the daughter of Felix Klein at a meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft in 1902 held at the Georg August University of Göttingen, where Klein was a professor. It was named after the University's founder King George II of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover.