Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Astronomy Picture of the Day - A Daytime Eclipse: Moon Occults Venus
NASA ^ | 15 Sep, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Arnaud Mariat

Posted on 09/15/2026 12:23:12 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: There was something behind the clouds. Upon close inspection, it was the Moon, which was hard to see yesterday around noon above the small village of Cessy, France. But soon, it was not only the Moon. As expected, a bright dot suddenly appeared from behind the Moon -- the planet Venus far in the distance. Captured in the single featured exposure, both appeared to show a crescent phase. The Moon's crescent was quite slight -- with only about 10 percent of its face illuminated by the Sun. In contrast, Venus's crescent was more full -- showing about 25 percent illumination. Venus appeared brighter because it is nearer the Sun and because its clouds are more reflective than the dark lunar surface. An occultation of Venus by the Moon is visible to only about 10 percent of the Earth, but in yesterday's event even most of that was experiencing daytime.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.

To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

1 posted on 09/15/2026 12:23:12 PM PDT by MtnClimber
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 09/15/2026 12:23:30 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 31R1O; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; ...
Pinging the APOD list

πŸͺ 🌟 🌌 πŸ”

3 posted on 09/15/2026 12:24:06 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Super cool! Awesome photo, today. :)


4 posted on 09/15/2026 12:36:31 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Funny, as looking at the crescent mooh late yesterday with Venus nearby.

Was thinking of just this juxpaosition


5 posted on 09/15/2026 12:46:53 PM PDT by doorgunner69
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: doorgunner69

On Sunday the crescent moon was sunward of Venus. One day later it had passed Venus. I’m impressed with the daytime shot of it instead of after sunset.


6 posted on 09/15/2026 1:12:31 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (If the Islamic Republic government is in power in Iran when the war is over, we will have lost.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Nice capture!


7 posted on 09/15/2026 2:43:37 PM PDT by telescope115 (Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson