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.

                                2021 July 10
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                        Mercury and the Da Vinci Glow
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Gabriel Funes

   Explanation: On July 8th early morning risers saw Mercury near an old
   Moon low on the eastern horizon. [5]On that date bright planet, faint
   glow of lunar night side, and sunlit crescent were captured in this
   predawn skyscape from Tenerife's Teide National Park in the Canary
   Islands. Never far from the Sun in planet Earth's sky, the [6]fleeting
   inner planet shines near its brightest in the morning twilight scene.
   Mercury lies just below the zeta star of the constellation Taurus,
   [7]Zeta Tauri, near the [8]tip of the celestial bull's horn. Of course
   the Moon's ashen glow is [9]earthshine, earthlight reflected from the
   Moon's night side. A description of earthshine, in terms of sunlight
   reflected by Earth's oceans illuminating the Moon's dark surface, was
   written over 500 years ago by [10]Leonardo da Vinci. Waiting for the
   coming dawn in the foreground are the [11]Teide Observatory's sentinels
   of the Sun, also known as (large domes left to right) the [12]THEMIS,
   [13]VTT, and GREGOR solar telescopes.

                   Tomorrow's picture: try to see the Moon
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [29]Specific rights apply.
              [30]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC
                           & [34]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2107/IMG_2021_07_08_29558_APOD.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. mailto: gfunpol [at] gmail [dot] com
   5. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/
   6. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mercury/overview/
   7. http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/zetatau.html
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_(constellation)#/media/File:Sidney_Hall_-_Urania's_Mirror_-_Taurus.jpg
   9. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83782
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2005/04oct_leonardo
  11. https://www.iac.es/en/observatorios-de-canarias/teide-observatory
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190118.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111122.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210709.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  18. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  23. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210710
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210711.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  28. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. http://www.mtu.edu/