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.

                                2024 July 27
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                          Saturn at the Moon's Edge
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Chengcheng Xu

   Explanation: Saturn now rises before midnight in planet Earth's sky. On
   July 24, the naked-eye planet was in close conjunction, [5]close on the
   sky, to a waning gibbous Moon. But from some locations on planet Earth
   the [6]ringed gas giant was occulted, [7]disappearing behind the Moon
   for about an hour from skies over parts of Asia and Africa. Because the
   Moon and bright planets wander through the sky near the [8]ecliptic
   plane, such [9]occultation events are not uncommon, but they can be
   [10]dramatic. In this telescopic view from Nanjing, Jiangsu, China,
   Saturn is caught moments before its disappearance behind the lunar
   disk. The snapshot gives the illusion that Saturn hangs just above
   [11]Glushko crater, a [12]43 kilometer diameter, young, ray crater near
   the Moon's western edge. Of course, the Moon is 400 thousand kilometers
   away, compared to Saturn's distance of 1.4 [13]billion kilometers.

                        Tomorrow's picture: sundance
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    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [29]Specific rights apply.
               [30]NASA Web Privacy, [31]Accessibility Notices
                A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC,
                         [35]NASA Science Activation
                           & [36]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2407/MoonSaturnOcc_Xu20240725.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. mailto: moligpy at gmail dot com
   5. https://www.space.com/moon-saturn-night-sky-july-23-2024
   6. https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/
   7. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20240724_16_100
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic
   9. http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/planets.htm
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030724.html
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glushko_(crater)
  12. https://sci.esa.int/web/smart-1/-/37704-crater-glushko
  13. http://kokogiak.com/megapenny/nine.asp
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240726.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=240727
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240728.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://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  35. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  36. http://www.mtu.edu/