Explanation:
Sometimes, it's fun to share the sky.
Although it might appear that the two
sky enthusiasts on the ridge are sharing only
a crescent moon between them, three
bright planets also stand before them.
The brightest point in the sky is the planet
Venus, while reddish
Mars floats above it, and
Saturn
shines off to its right.
In the foreground are picturesque clumps of sand of
the beach at
Costa da Caparica,
before the reflecting waters of the
Atlantic Ocean.
The evening picked to planet gaze was a particularly good one as the
Perseids meteor shower was also reaching its peak.
Fortunately, this evening sky was not unique to
Almada,
Portugal last Thursday,
but visible to sky enthusiasts
the world over last week.
These planets will all
remain visible at sunset this week, although Venus will sink to the horizon as it closes in on the setting Sun.
Poll:
Which of last week's APODs would you select as the APOW?
