September 2, 2022
On this date in 1804, German astronomer Karl Harding discovered the asteroid Juno. The asteroid was initially considered a planet; however, in the 1850s it was reclassified to an asteroid. In less than a week, on September 7, 2022, Juno will reach and make its closest approach to Earth. Although Juno will be at its brightest – magnitude 7.8 – binoculars or a telescope will still be needed to see this object.
The asteroid Juno as seen using various wavelengths of light. The images were taken in 2003 with the Hooker telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory. Image credit: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics