Venus [
http://www.pantheon…], named for the Roman goddess of love, and Mars [
http://www.pantheon…], the war god's namesake, approach each other by moonlight [
http://www.thorsten…] in this lovely sky view recorded on May 14th from Dunkirk, Maryland, USA. The four second time exposure made in twilight with a digital camera also records earthshine [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] illuminating the otherwise dark surface of the young [
http://starchild.gs…StarChild.html ] crescent Moon. Venus shines as the third brightest object in Earth's sky, after the Sun and the Moon itself, and has been appearing as the brilliant evening star [
http://www.library.…longfe10.html ] in the pantheon of planets [
http://www.seds.org…nineplanets.html ] arrayed in the west during April and May. Here, Venus' light is so intense that it produces a noticeable spike in the sensitive camera's image. Much fainter Mars [
http://www-mgcm.arc…ancient_mars.html ] is lower in the picture, caught between tree limbs swaying in a gentle evening breeze. By early June, Mars will be harder to spot as it wanders toward the horizon, but Venus and father Jupiter [
http://www.pantheon…] will draw closer together, presenting a spectacular pair of bright planets in the west [
http://SkyandTelesc…article_572_1.asp ].
Explanation
Venus [
http://www.pantheon…], named for the Roman goddess of love, and Mars [
http://www.pantheon…], the war god's namesake, approach each other by moonlight [
http://www.thorsten…] in this lovely sky view recorded on May 14th from Dunkirk, Maryland, USA. The four second time exposure made in twilight with a digital camera also records earthshine [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] illuminating the otherwise dark surface of the young [
http://starchild.gs…StarChild.html ] crescent Moon. Venus shines as the third brightest object in Earth's sky, after the Sun and the Moon itself, and has been appearing as the brilliant evening star [
http://www.library.…longfe10.html ] in the pantheon of planets [
http://www.seds.org…nineplanets.html ] arrayed in the west during April and May. Here, Venus' light is so intense that it produces a noticeable spike in the sensitive camera's image. Much fainter Mars [
http://www-mgcm.arc…ancient_mars.html ] is lower in the picture, caught between tree limbs swaying in a gentle evening breeze. By early June, Mars will be harder to spot as it wanders toward the horizon, but Venus and father Jupiter [
http://www.pantheon…] will draw closer together, presenting a spectacular pair of bright planets in the west [
http://SkyandTelesc…article_572_1.asp ].
Explanation
