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Credit & Copyright: Kristine Richer
Explanation:
Is this just a lonely tree on an empty hill?
To start, perhaps, but
look beyond.
There, a busy universe may wait to be discovered.
First, physically, to the left of the tree, is the planet
Mars.
The red planet, which is the new home to NASA's
Perseverance rover,
remains visible
this month at sunset above the western horizon.
To the tree's right is the
Pleiades,
a bright cluster of stars dominated by several bright blue stars.
The
featured picture is a composite of several separate
foreground and background images taken within a few hours of each other,
early last month, from the same location on
Vinegar
Hill in Milford,
Nova Scotia,
Canada.
At that time,
Mars was passing slowly, night after night,
nearly in front of the distant
Seven Sisters star cluster.
The next time Mars will pass
angularly as close to the Pleiades as it did in March
will be
in
2038.
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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 - pleiades
Publications with words: Mars - pleiades
See also: