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
- L. Boyer
- Discovery site
- Algiers Obs.
- Discovery date
- 4 December 1934
- Pronunciation
- / dj uː ˈ p ɒ n t ə /
- Named after
- Marc Dupont, (discoverer's nephew)
- Alternative designations
- 1934 XA
Article
1338 Duponta, provisional designation 1934 XA, is a stony Florian asteroid and synchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7.8 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 4 December 1934, by French astronomer Louis Boyer at the Algiers Observatory in Algeria, North Africa. It was named after the discoverer's nephew, Marc Dupont. The asteroid's unnamed minor-planet moon was discovered in March 2007. It measures approximately 1.77 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 17.57 hours.