961 Gunnie

Also known as (961) Gunnie, Gunnie

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: 10 October 1921
Named after: Gunnie Asplind (daughter of Bror Asplind )
Alternative designations: A921 TH · 1930 XT, 1968 HO · 1921 KM
Minor planet category: main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Article

961 Gunnie (prov. designation: A921 TH or 1921 KM) is a very dark background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 37 kilometers (23 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 10 October 1921, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory. The C/X-type asteroid has a rotation period of 21.4 hours. It was named after Gunnie Asplind, daughter of Swedish astronomer Bror Asplind (1890–1954).

Orbit and classification