Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2020 May 29
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                        Mercury Meets Crescent Venus
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Marco Meniero

   Explanation: [5]That's not a bright star and [6]crescent Moon caught
   between branches of a eucalyptus tree. It's Venus in a crescent phase
   and Mercury. Near the western horizon after sunset, the two inner
   planets closely shared this telescopic field of view on May 22, seen
   from a balcony in Civitavecchia, Italy. [7]Venus, the very bright
   celestial beacon, is wandering lower into the evening twilight. It
   grows larger in apparent size and shows a [8]thinner crescent as it
   heads toward its inferior conjunction, positioned between Earth and Sun
   on June 3. [9]Mercury, in a fuller phase, is climbing in the western
   sky though, reaching its maximum angular distance from the Sun on June
   4 Still, this [10]remarkably close pairing with brilliant Venus made
   Mercury, usually lost in bright twilight skies, easier to spot from
   planet Earth.

   Gallery: [11]Notable Venus & Mercury Conjunction 2020 Images submitted
                                   to APOD
                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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    Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([26]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [27]Specific rights apply.
              [28]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [29]ASD at [30]NASA / [31]GSFC
                           & [32]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2005/Venere-e-Mercurio-tra-gli-Eucalipti.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.meniero.it/
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140101.html
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050513.html
   7. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/overview/
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200521.html
   9. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mercury/overview/
  10. https://earthsky.org/tonight/mercury-venus-pair-up-at-dusk-may-21-and-22
  11. https://www.facebook.com/pg/APOD.Sky/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2634468203324049
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200528.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200529
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200530.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  29. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  32. http://www.mtu.edu/