Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.
2024 September 3
The featured image shows an orange sky with clouds across the bottom
and several bright stars near the top center. Just at the top of the
cloud deck on the left is a half-lit Moon. Please see the explanation
for more detailed information.
Quarter Moon and Sister Stars
Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Dyer, TWAN
Explanation: Nine days ago, two quite different sky icons were imaged
rising together. Specifically, Earth's Moon shared the eastern sky with
the sister stars of the Pleiades cluster, as viewed from Alberta,
Canada. Astronomical images of the well-known Pleiades often show the
star cluster's alluring blue reflection nebulas, but here they are
washed-out by the orange moonrise sky. The half-lit Moon, known as a
quarter moon, is overexposed, although the outline of the dim lunar
night side can be seen by illuminating earthshine, light first
reflected from the Earth. The featured image is a composite of eight
successive exposures with brightnesses adjusted to match what the human
eye would see. The Moon passes nearly -- or directly -- in front of the
Pleaides once a month.
Tomorrow's picture: cosmic bat signal
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.
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* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)
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