                        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 May 4

                        Planets Over Egyptian Pyramid
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Osama Fatehi

   Explanation: The early morning planet parade continues. Visible the
   world over, the planets Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn have been
   lining up in the pre-dawn sky since mid-April. In the featured image
   taken last month, these planets were captured over the Step Pyramid of
   Djoser, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the Saqqara necropolis
   of Egypt, the pyramid was constructed in the 27th century BC and is one
   of the oldest pyramids known. The two-image composite includes a
   foreground image taken during evening blue hour, and a background image
   captured from the same location the following morning. The morning
   planet line-up is slowly changing. At the end of last month, planets
   Jupiter and Venus switched places, while at the end of this month,
   Jupiter and Mars will switch after passing within one-degree of each
   other. Of course, this picturesque planetary angular alignment is a
   coincidence, as all of these worlds continue to orbit the Sun as they
   have for billions of years, well before even the ancient Pyramid of
   Djoser was built.

           Notable Submissions to APOD: Morning Planet Parade 2022
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

