Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Moon and Venus at Dawn

NASA ^ | July 02, 2011 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Brilliant Venus and a thin crescent Moon stood together above the eastern horizon just before sunrise on June 30. The lovely celestial pairing is captured in this colorful twilight skyview overlooking a reservoir near Izmir, Turkey. For some, the close conjunction could be viewed as a daylight occultation. While Venus is nearing the end of its latest performance as planet Earth's morning star, the old lunar cresent, about 24 hours from its New Moon phase, was also bidding farewell for now to the dawn. In fact, for the next two nights a young Moon can be spotted just after sunset. Look for a thin sunlit sliver close to the western horizon, not far from bright planet Mercury.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit: Tunç Tezel (TWAN)]

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

I like the kitty, but this is going to be a pain in my keister.

[I still care]

It’s always amazing to me, how things hang in the sky like that.

What a wonderful cosmos we live in.

[Sprite518]

Beautiful

[bigheadfred]

I like the kitty, but this is going to be a pain in my keister.

I didn't even know you had a girlfriend. But I can see how a crescent moon and Venus made you think of her.

[TheOldLady]

Lovely. That’s one of my favorite juxtapositions, and I haven’t seen it for a while.

The landscape in the picture almost looks like the view from our old house in Valencia, CA. Looking across the Carquinez Strait toward Martinez, Concord, and Mt. Diablo, we could see a similar sight.