APOD: Three Planets Rock (2023 Nov 14)
Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2023 5:06 am
Three Planets RockExplanation: 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 Earthâs sky: Jupiter, Venus and the Moon. Though a thin waning crescent, most of the moonâs disk is visible due to earthshine. Captured in this image on 2022 April 27, Venus (center) 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 Earthâs sky â the Sun.
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