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Credit & Copyright: Giorgia Hofer
Explanation:
On March 23 early evening
skygazers
could watch Venus and a young crescent moon,
both near the western horizon.
On that date Earth's brilliant evening star,
faint lunar night side and slender sunlit crescent
were captured in this telephoto skyscape
posing alongside a church tower from
Danta di Cadore, Dolomiti, Italy.
Of course the subtle lunar illumination is
earthshine,
earthlight reflected from the Moon's night side.
A description of earthshine, in terms of sunlight
reflected by Earth's oceans illuminating
the Moon's dark surface, was written over 500 years ago by
Leonardo da Vinci.
On March 24, from
some
locations the Moon
could be seen to occult or pass in front of Venus.
Around
the planet tonight,
a waxing lunar crescent will appear near
the Pleiades star cluster.
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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
Publications with words: Venus
See also: