Explanation:
At sunset, Monday's western sky showed off stunning colors
and dramatic clouds reflected in
Brisbane Water on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia.
It also featured the
remarkable conjunction
of the crescent Moon,
Venus, and Jupiter forming a twilight smiley face.
While the gathering of the two bright planets and Moon
awed skygazers
around planet Earth, astronomer Mike Salway
reports taking special pains to record
this gorgeous view,
braving mosquitos and rain squalls along a soggy shore.
His southern hemisphere
perspective finds brilliant Venus at the highest point
in the celestial grouping.
For now, a bright pairing of Venus and Jupiter continues
to dominate the western horizon after sunset but the Moon has
moved on and tonight is near its
first quarter phase.
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