                        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.

                              2023 February 25

                          Crescent Moon Occultation
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Fefo Bouvier

   Explanation: On February 22, a young Moon shared the western sky at
   sunset with bright planets Venus and Jupiter along the ecliptic plane.
   The beautiful celestial conjunction was visible around planet Earth.
   But from some locations Jupiter hid for a while, occulted by the
   crescent lunar disk. The Solar System's ruling gas giant was captured
   here just before it disappeared behind the the Moon's dark edge, seen
   over the Río de la Plata at Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. In the
   serene river and skyscape Venus is not so shy, shining brightly closer
   to the horizon through the fading twilight. Next week Venus and Jupiter
   will appear even closer in your evening sky.

                    Tomorrow's picture: Saturn's Iapetus
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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