Explanation:
This colorful view of the western sky at sunset features
last Wednesday's slender crescent Moon.
Of course, when the Moon is in its
crescent phase it can
never be far from the Sun in the sky.
Also always close to the Sun in Earth's sky
is innermost
planet
Mercury, seen here below and right of center
against the bright orange glow along the horizon.
Mercury is usually
difficult
to glimpse because
of overwhelming sunlight, but increasingly better views of
the small planet after sunset will be possible as
it wanders farther
east of the Sun in the coming days.
On January 14th, NASA's MESSENGER
spacecraft will have a
good view
too, as it makes
its first Mercury flyby.
