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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Moon, Venus and Spica Meet
NASA ^ | 12 Nov. 2026 | Credit & Copyright Włodzimierz Bubak

Posted on 11/12/2026 1:37:46 PM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: Not all those who wander are lost. A night sky example is that planets wander, and in fact the very word "planet" comes from "wandering star" in Greek. As planets shift relative to fixed stars, they may appear from our perspective to get closer to other astronomical objects. Such meetings are called conjunctions. They don't happen by chance, but follow the precise laws of celestial mechanics. This peaceful image, captured in Poland, shows the crescent Moon above the Tatra Mountains, and bright Venus close by, a little lower in the horizon. The bright star to the left of Venus is Spica in the constellation of Virgo, the Maiden. Spica is one of the brightest stars in the sky, only about 250 light-years away. It was found in 1890 that Spica is a binary star: two massive blue stars orbiting each other every 4 days. But earlier this year it was reported that Spica, the current companion of wandering Venus, is actually a triple system.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
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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 11/12/2026 1:37:46 PM PST by MtnClimber
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2 posted on 11/12/2026 1:38:19 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Wow.


3 posted on 11/12/2026 1:38:54 PM PST by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 31R1O; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; ...
Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

4 posted on 11/12/2026 1:39:06 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Nice. How long did the photographer have to wait for that shot, or was it pure luck?


5 posted on 11/12/2026 1:47:09 PM PST by ryderann
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To: MtnClimber

That is a pretty sight!


6 posted on 11/12/2026 2:07:34 PM PST by telescope115 (Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
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To: MtnClimber

There must be a town between the forest and the mountain. The light coming up from behind the trees gives the scene an ethereal effect.


7 posted on 11/12/2026 2:14:46 PM PST by telescope115 (Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
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To: No name given

lol...

You’re a Dedicated Wow’r!!


8 posted on 11/12/2026 2:33:10 PM PST by sit-rep (I may be Dumb, but I'm not Stupid!)
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