                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                                2022 March 29

                    Venus and Mars: Passing in the Night
               Image Credit & Copyright: Carlos Kiko Fairbairn

   Explanation: When two planets pass on the night sky, they can usually
   be seen near each other for a week or more. In the case of this
   planetary conjunction, Venus and Mars passed within 4 degrees of each
   other earlier this month. The featured image was taken a few days
   prior, when Venus was slowing rising in the pre-dawn sky, night by
   night, while Mars was slowly setting. The image, a four-part mosaic,
   was captured in Brazil from the small town Teresópolis. Besides Venus
   and Mars, the morning sky now also includes the more distant planet
   Saturn. Of course, these conjunctions are only angular -- Venus, Mars,
   and Saturn continue to orbit the Sun in very different parts of our
   Solar System. Next week, the angle between Saturn and Mars will drop to
   below a quarter of a degree.

                      Tomorrow's picture: rings unknown
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

