Starship Asterisk*

Clouds, Birds, Moon, Venus

Explanation: Sometimes the sky above can become quite a show. In early September of 2010, for example, the Moon and Venus converged, creating quite a sight by itself for sky enthusiasts around the globe. From some locations, though, the sky was even more picturesque. In the above image taken last week from Spain, a crescent Moon and the planet Venus, on the far right, were captured during sunset posing against a deep blue sky. In the foreground, dark storm clouds loom across the image bottom, while a white anvil cloud shape appears above. Black specks dot the frame, caused by a flock of birds taking flight. Very soon after this picture was taken, however, the birds passed by, the storm ended, and Venus and the Moon set. Bright Venus again becomes visible just after sunset this 2013 May and will appear near Jupiter toward the end of the month.

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An awesome looking picture, with many different elements...Happenstance often makes for an interesting composition...

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This is a repost from Sept 2010. Which is fine, I guess. It is a fantastic picture after all. But the caption makes it sound like the picture was taken last week.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100915.html

Yes, iajomac, it does say that an evening crescent was photographed last week. But last week the moon was a waning crescent, visible in the predawn sky. And a fatter crescent than we see here, too, even late in the week. Waning gibbous earlier in the week. Maybe we will see some edits soon.

Yes, the APOD caption is incorrect. The image, per the photographer's web site, was taken on Sept 11, 2010. This month's close pairing can be seen in this image taken by Cattleya Flores Viray on May 10th from LaJolla CA (the 1st Crescent Moon is barely visible):
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/05/venu ... lla-CA.jpg

It seems that configuration could occur yesterday... but, this photo was certainly not took from Spain ! Illuminated face of the Moon tells direction of the sun, and it's really not where it would be at latitude of Spain.

Fixed the "last week" reference. Apologies. - RJN

A visually entertaining photo - lots to look at. Always love the Sunday "re-runs".

RJN wrote:Fixed the "last week" reference. Apologies. - RJN

Since there's always the possibility of any APOD being used again in the future, you might consider tweaking the caption style to avoid problems like this. Even with new images, I'm always a little uncomfortable with "last week", "last month" and the like. If the date is relevant (as is often the case) I'd like to see the actual date of the image given. Indeed, I probably spend more time tracking down the date and time images were made than I do any other APOD detail. Occasionally, it doesn't seem to be available at all, which is really disappointing for any astronomical image where date and time are critical to what we see.

Something about this image makes me think of Alice in Wonderland... Can't put my finger on it though

Lordcat Darkstar wrote:Something about this image makes me think of Alice in Wonderland... Can't put my finger on it though.

And, cue Art...

awesome. simply awesome

Chris Peterson wrote:If the date is relevant (as is often the case) I'd like to see the actual date of the image given.

Thanks, Chris. In my opinion the APOD text sounds more topical and newsworthy if the image posted is described in colloquial language as occurring recently, if it is. Stating the day, month, and year may be more precise and may allow for easier APOD rerun updates, but it sometimes makes the (first run) text read as more technical and less topical, to my taste. There is a bit more of a "pop" for readers to realize that the above image was taken "just last week", for example, than on 2013 May 5, which my brain doesn't parse so quickly.

Chris Peterson wrote: Indeed, I probably spend more time tracking down the date and time images were made than I do any other APOD detail. Occasionally, it doesn't seem to be available at all, which is really disappointing for any astronomical image where date and time are critical to what we see.

Sorry -- that's (another) good point. As you know many times the image EXIF data may tell you this information, as might a link on that day's text. If it's really important but obscured please email Jerry or me and will give you the best timing information we have. Oh, and unfortunately, it looks like tomorrow's APOD (e.g. 2013 May 13) includes the words "last week".

- RJN

recently, knowing the precise date and time, and location, gave us the exact model of the airplane depicted in the image. Across the moon, I think.

Handsome image.

RJN wrote:Thanks, Chris. In my opinion the APOD text sounds more topical and newsworthy if the image posted is described in colloquial language as occurring recently, if it is.

Agreed. Still, if there were a way to include both in some cases...

Sorry -- that's (another) good point. As you know many times the image EXIF data may tell you this information, as might a link on that day's text. If it's really important but obscured please email Jerry or me and will give you the best timing information we have.

Yes, sometimes it's there. Unfortunately, it seems like this comes up most often with the TWAN images, and other images by people who specialize in nightscapes. Those images usually have their headers stripped, and very often (for whatever reason) the original websites don't give the date and time. And those are precisely the images that most people seem interested in trying to match to star maps. Perhaps you can (strongly) encourage submitters of images to provide accurate date and time information for their images, especially where there is content that is transient.

Oh, and unfortunately, it looks like tomorrow's APOD (e.g. 2013 May 13) includes the words "last week".

So it does. And that's a very good example of everything going wrong: the imager has no website with additional information, the image itself has had its EXIF header stripped, and the nature of the image is such that people will be interested in knowing the time very accurately (based on comments a few weeks ago about another image with a plane in it).

With respect to the Sunday repeats: maybe you should put them on a slightly different page format. Instead of "Astronomy Picture of the Day", maybe something like "Classic Astronomy Picture of the Day" or "Astronomy Picture of the Day Revisited". And along with the original caption, you could list the date of the original appearance, or the most recent appearance. If the information has changed, you could tack it on as an editor's note, which is nice as it allows us to compare the original thinking with the current. Anyway, just thinking out loud. I don't have a problem with repeats, but maybe if they were clearly identified as such, more people would grasp the concept.

or "Astronomy Picture of the Other Day" (same acronym)

may I suggest for Sundays posting images Hubble himself took ( and other pioneers )

ta152h0 wrote:may I suggest for Sundays posting images Hubble himself took ( and other pioneers )

I like the idea of a retrospective series of images (although it deviates a little from the APOD concept of timeliness). But remember, Sundays are reserved for repeats so the editors can get a day off.

It's not just so they have a day off, but to introduce some of the truly spectacular images that have previously appeared on APOD to APOD's newer viewers. This helps provide context for newly-created images.

owlice wrote:It's not just so they have a day off, but to introduce some of the truly spectacular images that have previously appeared on APOD to APOD's newer viewers. This helps provide context for newly-created images.

they tend to be the best of the best right? I would think all the facts and links accompanying the photos have had time to be vetted and updated thoroughly too. What's not to like?