APOD: Moon and Venus at Dawn (2011 Jul 02)

[APOD Robot]

Moon and Venus at Dawn

Explanation: Brilliant Venus and a thin crescent Moon stood together above the eastern horizon just before sunrise on June 30. The lovely celestial pairing is captured in this colorful twilight skyview overlooking a reservoir near Izmir, Turkey. For some, the close conjunction could be viewed as a daylight occultation. While Venus is nearing the end of its latest performance as planet Earth's morning star, the old lunar cresent, about 24 hours from its New Moon phase, was also bidding farewell for now to the dawn. In fact, for the next two nights a young Moon can be spotted just after sunset. Look for a thin sunlit sliver close to the western horizon, not far from bright planet Mercury.

<< Previous APOD

Discuss Any APOD

Next APOD >>

[/b]

[Ann]

That's a very beautiful image, one of many taken by Tunç Tezel.

Ann

[Redbone]

Did you know that the new moon always sets at sunset and the full moon always rises at sunset?

[burlcl]

The text calls it a crescent moon. Rather is it not a gibbous moon?

[saturn2]

Moon and Venus in the beautiful sky. Image 10 / 10 O K

[orin stepanek]

I liked it! I saved it for a background.

[owlice]

The text calls it a crescent moon. Rather is it not a gibbous moon?

No; this is a crescent moon. A gibbous moon is between the half moon and a full moon; see here for more information.

[neufer]

Flag of Turkey

---

<<The flag of Turkey is a red flag with a white crescent moon and a star in its centre. The flag is called Ay Yıldız (literally, moon star.) or Albayrak (Red flag). The flag uses the same symbols of the late flag of the Ottoman Empire which were adopted in 1844 with the Tanzimat reforms; though the shape, placement and shade of the colour vary. Historically, in accounting for the crescent and star symbol, Ottomans sometimes referred to a legendary dream of the eponymous founder of the Ottoman house, Osman I, in which he is reported to have seen a moon rising from the breast of a qadi whose daughter he sought to marry. "When full, it descended into his own breast. Then from his loins there sprang a tree , which as it grew came to cover the whole world with the shadow of its green and beautiful branches." Beneath it Osman saw the world spread out before him, surmounted by the crescent.>>

[burlcl]

Thank you. owlice, for the info on 'gibbous' But I still question the term crescent. The Latin "Crescre" with its present participle "Crescens" means to increase. This moon is decreasing (L. Decrescens) Luna mendax, the mendacious moon, is shaped like a C when it is decreasing, and like a D when it is increasing.

[Chris Peterson]

But I still question the term crescent. The Latin "Crescre" with its present participle "Crescens" means to increase. This moon is decreasing (L. Decrescens) Luna mendax, the mendacious moon, is shaped like a C when it is decreasing, and like a D when it is increasing.

A crescent Moon is defined as a Moon with less than half its visible hemisphere lit. That is, between new and first quarter, and between last quarter and the following new. In the former case, it is called a waxing crescent Moon. In the latter, it is a waning crescent Moon.

In English, the meanings of "crescent" are much broader than the Latin word it derives from. The usage with respect to the Moon is just one of those meanings.

[Wolf Kotenberg]

Looks like Los Angeles is not the only place suffering from air quality problems. Or did a volcano erupt recently ?

[owlice]

Definition of crescent: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definitio ... nt?view=uk

[neufer]

Definition of crescent: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definitio ... nt?view=uk

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 78#p121578
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 26#p112626