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.

2023 November 14
A seascape surrounds a large tree-covered hill. Surrounding the hill
in the night sky are three bright dots: the planets Jupiter, Venus,
and a crescent Moon.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Three Planets Rock
Image Credit & Copyright: Giovanni Passalacqua; Text: Liz Coelho (Pikes Peak)

Explanation: In the fading darkness before dawn, a tilted triangle appeared to balance atop a rock formation off the southern tip of Sicily. Making up the points of the triangle are three of the four brightest objects visible in Earth’s sky: Jupiter, Venus and the Moon. Though a thin waning crescent, most of the moon’s disk is visible due to earthshine. Captured in this image on 2022 April 27, Venus (centre) and Jupiter (left) are roughly three degrees apart -- and were headed toward a close conjunction. Conjunctions of Venus and Jupiter occur about once a year and are visible either in the east before sunrise or in the west after sunset. The featured image was taken about an hour before the arrival of the brightest object in Earth’s sky – the Sun.

Tomorrow's picture: open space


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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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