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Credit & Copyright: Ron Dantowitz,
Clay Center Observatory
Explanation:
What was that bright "star" near the Moon last week?
Mars of course, as
the Red Planet wandered near the
wanning gibbous Moon early last Thursday morning, passing
behind the lunar orb when viewed
from some locations
in South and Central America, the Carribean, and Florida.
The Clay Center Observatory expedition to Bonita Springs, Florida
produced this evocative picture of
Mars grazing the Moon's dark edge by
digitally stacking and processing a series of telescopic
images of the event.
With the cratered Moon in the foreground,
the bright planet Mars seems
alarmingly
close, its global scale features
and white south polar cap easily visible.
Already impressive, the apparent size of the martian disk
will continue to grow in the coming weeks,
until, on August 27, Mars reaches its
closest approach to planet Earth in over 50,000 years.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Mars - Moon - occultation
Publications with words: Mars - Moon - occultation
See also: