Explanation:
Last Friday, a gathering of three bright planets and the Moon
graced the morning sky.
With Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and a narrow lunar crescent
close to the eastern horizon in the dawn twilight, this picture of
the beautiful conjunction
was recorded near Noerdlingen, Germany.
These planets are wandering apart now and
Mercury is sinking
closer toward the rising Sun.
But if you also scan the rest of the sky this week
you should be able to add Jupiter and Mars to your planet spotting list,
as Mars rises around midnight and Jupiter shines brightly
after sunset.
In fact, if you want a better view of Jupiter
than Galileo had,
you might check out the
2009 International Year of Astronomy
activities
and events during these next few
Galilean Nights
(October 22-24).
digg_url ='http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091022.html'; digg_skin = 'compact';
