Astronomy Picture of the Day 5-24-02

NASA ^ | 5-24-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 May 24

Love and War by Moonlight
Credit & Copyright: Fred Espenak (courtesy of www.MrEclipse.com)

Explanation: Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love, and Mars, the war god's namesake, approach each other by moonlight in this lovely sky view recorded on May 14th from Dunkirk, Maryland, USA. The four second time exposure made in twilight with a digital camera also records earthshine illuminating the otherwise dark surface of the young crescent Moon. Venus shines as the third brightest object in Earth's sky, after the Sun and the Moon itself, and has been appearing as the brilliant evening star in the pantheon of planets arrayed in the west during April and May. Here, Venus' light is so intense that it produces a noticeable spike in the sensitive camera's image. Much fainter Mars is lower in the picture, caught between tree limbs swaying in a gentle evening breeze. By early June, Mars will be harder to spot as it wanders toward the horizon, but Venus and father Jupiter will draw closer together, presenting a spectacular pair of bright planets in the west.

[petuniasevan]

Get on the APOD PING list!

[petuniasevan]

APOD PING!

[farmfriend]

My maiden name was Marrs. I do have a hot Irish temper.

[RightWhale]

They say that moonlight makes the earth's atmosphere glow as seen from above as well. It's something to look for when you get your turn to go into space as a tourist.

[glock rocks]

oh sweetheart, another new desktop photo. thank you.

[altair]

It's something to look for when you get your turn to go into space as a tourist.

I wish they'd hurry up. I expected to have already been one by now.

[2Trievers]

Venus Panorama - Ron Miller - Black Cat Studios

[foolish-one]

Saw them. Beautiful, clear sky. Stood there staring. Surrealistic.

Thanks, P.

[sistergoldenhair]

Beautiful. Thanks.