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 16
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                          Love and War by Moonlight
                  Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Shi Huan

   Explanation: [5]Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love, and
   [6]Mars, the war god's namesake, come together [7]by moonlight in this
   serene skyview, recorded on July 11 from Lualaba province, Democratic
   Republic of Congo, planet Earth. Taken in the western twilight sky
   shortly after sunset the exposure also records [8]earthshine
   illuminating the otherwise dark surface of the [9]young crescent Moon.
   Of course the Moon has moved on. Venus still shines in the west though
   as the [10]evening star, third brightest object in Earth's sky, after
   the Sun and the Moon itself. [11]Seen here above a brilliant Venus,
   Mars moved even closer to the brighter planet and by July 13 could be
   seen only about a Moon's width away. Mars has since slowly wandered
   away from much brighter Venus in the twilight, but both are sliding
   toward bright star Regulus. Alpha star of the constellation Leo,
   Regulus lies off the top of this frame and anticipates a [12]visit from
   Venus and then Mars in twilight skies of [13]the coming days.

                Tomorrow's picture: when the moon watches you
     __________________________________________________________________

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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/2107/2021Jul11MarsVenusMoon_ShiHuan.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. mailto: qitanicheng 56 [at] gmail
   5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_(mythology)
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(mythology)
   7. http://moon.nasa.gov/home.cfm
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210710.html
   9. http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html
  10. http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poems/evening-star
  11. https://earthsky.org/tonight/young-moon-venus-and-mars-conjunction/
  12. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-2-missions-to-study-lost-habitable-world-of-venus
  13. https://earthsky.org/tonight/venus-regulus-in-conjunction-on-july-21/
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210715.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=210716
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210717.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/