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Credit & Copyright: Fred Espenak
(Bifrost
Astronomical Observatory)
Explanation:
After
wandering
about as far from the Sun on the sky as Venus can get,
the brilliant evening star is crossing paths with the sister stars of the
Pleiades cluster.
Look west after sunset and you can share
the ongoing conjunction
with
skygazers
around the world.
Taken on April 2,
this celestial group photo captures the view from Portal, Arizona, USA.
Even bright naked-eye Pleiades stars prove
to be much fainter than Venus though.
Apparent in
deeper telescopic images, the cluster's dusty surroundings
and familiar bluish reflection nebulae aren't quite visible,
while brighter Venus itself is almost overwhelming in the single exposure.
And while Venus and the Sisters do look a little star-crossed,
their spiky appearance is the
diffraction
pattern caused by
multiple leaves in the aperture of the telephoto lens.
The last similar conjunction of Venus and Pleiades
occurred nearly 8 years ago.
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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: Venus - pleiades
Publications with words: Venus - pleiades
See also: