Explanation:
What just above that ridge?
The Moon.
Specifically, the Earth's Moon was caught just above the horizon in a young crescent phase.
The familiar Moon might look a bit odd as the exposure shows significant
Earthshine -- the illumination of the part of the
Moon hidden from direct sunlight by the sun-reflecting Earth.
Also captured in the image is the
bright planet Venus on the right.
Venus and Jupiter passed only three degrees from each other last week during a photogenic
planetary conjunction.
The above image was taken two days ago near
Madrid,
Spain.
The foreground horizon silhouette includes some of the Seven
Peaks of the
Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range.
Just a few minutes after this picture was taken, the Moon set.
Conjunction Gallery:
See images of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter together over the past month.
