by APOD Robot » Wed May 20, 2020 4:05 am
Moon, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Milky Way
Explanation: It is not a coincidence that planets line up. That's because all of the
planets orbit the
Sun in (nearly) a single sheet called the plane of the
ecliptic. When viewed from inside that plane -- as
Earth dwellers are likely to do -- the planets all appear confined to a
single band. It is a coincidence, though, when
three of the brightest planets all appear in nearly the same direction. Such a coincidence was captured about a month ago.
Featured above, Earth's Moon,
Mars,
Saturn, and
Jupiter were all
imaged together, just before sunrise, from the
Black Sea coast of
Bulgaria. A second band is
visible diagonally across this image -- the central band of our
Milky Way Galaxy. If you wake up early, you will find that these same planets
remain visible in the morning sky this month, too.
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200520.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_200520.jpg[/img] [size=150]Moon, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Milky Way[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] It is not a coincidence that planets line up. That's because all of the [url=https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/ask-ethan-82-why-are-the-planets-all-in-the-same-plane-4470245c8743]planets orbit[/url] the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160731.html]Sun[/url] in (nearly) a single sheet called the plane of the [url=http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Secliptc.htm]ecliptic[/url]. When viewed from inside that plane -- as [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170326.html]Earth dwellers[/url] are likely to do -- the planets all appear confined to a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic]single band[/url]. It is a coincidence, though, when [url=https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photos-moon-morning-planets-april-2020]three of the brightest planets[/url] all appear in nearly the same direction. Such a coincidence was captured about a month ago. [url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B_pZqfZjC8Y/]Featured above[/url], Earth's Moon, [url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mars/overview/]Mars[/url], [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200330.html]Saturn[/url], and [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190205.html]Jupiter[/url] were all [url=https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/5a1854f1c22e9-png__700.jpg]imaged together[/url], just before sunrise, from the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea]Black Sea[/url] coast of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria]Bulgaria[/url]. A second band is [url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/video/jpl-20200501-whatsuf-0001-180cc.mp4]visible[/url] diagonally across this image -- the central band of our [url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/285/the-milky-way-galaxy/]Milky Way Galaxy[/url]. If you wake up early, you will find that these same planets [url=https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury]remain visible[/url] in the morning sky this month, too.
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