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Credit & Copyright: Alex Dzierba
Explanation:
What's that bright spot near the Moon?
Venus.
About a week ago,
Earth's Moon appeared
unusually close to the distant planet Venus,
an angular coincidence known as an
appulse.
Similar to a
conjunction, which is a
coordinate term, an appulse
refers more generally to when two celestial objects appear close together.
This Moon and Venus appulse -- once as close as 0.05 degrees -- was
captured
rising during the early morning behind
Koko
crater on the island of
O'ahu in
Hawaii,
USA.
The Moon was in a crescent phase with its lower left reflecting direct sunlight,
while the rest of the Moon is seen because of
Earthshine, sunlight first reflected from the Earth.
Some leaves and branches of a foreground
kiawe
tree are seen in silhouette in front of the bright crescent, while others,
in front of a darker background, appear white because of
forward scattering.
Appulses involving the Moon typically occur
several times a year: for example the Moon is expected
to pass within 0.20
degrees of distant Saturn on March 1.
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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: Moon - Venus
Publications with words: Moon - Venus
See also: