NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 25 March 2023: RARE Venus and Moon meeting! | Tech News

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 25 March 2023: RARE Venus and Moon meeting!

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a rare view of Venus and a young crescent moon.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Mar 25 2023, 15:57 IST
Top NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Week: Andromeda Galaxy, Crab Nebula and more
Venus and Moon
1/5 M1 Crab Nebula (March 20) - Today’s NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is the Messier 1, which was first discovered by Chinese astronomers in 1054. Also known as the Crab Nebula, it is located about 6500 light-years away towards the constellation of Taurus and spans about 10 light-years across. The Crab Nebula is now also known to be a supernova remnant, which are the remnants left behind after a supernova explosion. (NASA/Detlef Hartmann)
Venus and Moon
2/5 Dark Nebulae and the Taurus Molecular Cloud (March 21) - is a fascinating snapshot of the dark nebulae and the star formation in the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC). Located about 400 light-years away, TMC is one of the closest molecular clouds to our solar system. The Taurus Molecular Cloud is also home to Hind's Variable Nebula (NGC 1555) about 650 light-years away as well as the star T Tauri. (NASA/Vikas Chander)
Venus and Moon
3/5 The Andromeda Galaxy (March 22) - Today’s NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is the Andromeda Galaxy. According to NASA, the Andromeda Galaxy is twice the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy, spanning across nearly 260,000 light-years and containing over 1 trillion stars. (NASA/Abdullah Al-Harbi)
Venus and Moon
4/5 Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841 (March 23) - It is the Spiral Galaxy, also known as NGC 2841. It is an unbarred spiral galaxy located about 46 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major, which is also known as the Great Bear. According to NASA, NGC 2841 has a relatively low star formation rate as of now, in comparison to other spirals that are alight with emission nebulae. (NASA/Roberto Marinoni)
Venus and Moon
5/5 Comet ZTF and the stars of Milky Way (March 24) - It is a picture of Comet ZTF fading away in the sky. According to NASA, it is now 13.3 light-minutes away from Earth and will go on its way before it makes another approach with Earth 50000 years into the future. The comet can be seen alongside stars of the Milky Way Galaxy towards the constellation Eridanus. (NASA/Rolando Ligustri)
Venus and Moon
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After the rare Venus and crescent moon conjunction, there is a five-planetary parade waiting for you. Know details. (NASA)

Two celestial bodies looked like they actually met up in the sky! The sky was adorned with a rare occurrence as Moon and Venus came together in conjunction, bringing joy to astronomers as well as skywatchers. The two celestial bodies appeared so close that they seemed almost within reach, causing a frenzy of excitement among netizens. The Crescent Moon appeared larger while Venus looked like a tiny dot below it.

The same has been featured as the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day for 25th March. While sharing an image of the Venus and Moon conjunction, NASA said, “on March 23 early evening sky gazers could watch Venus and a young crescent moon, both near the western horizon.” In this stunning telephoto skyscape taken in Danta di Cadore, Dolomiti, Italy, Earth's radiant evening star, faint lunar night side, and slender sunlit crescent can be seen posing beside a church tower.

The delicate lunar glow visible on the dark side of the Moon is actually earthshine - the reflection of sunlight from Earth that illuminates the Moon's night side. NASA further mentioned that Leonardo da Vinci wrote about earthshine more than 500 years ago, describing it as the reflection of sunlight by Earth's oceans that illuminates the dark surface of the Moon.

On March 24, some locations witnessed the Moon occulting or passing in front of Venus. Tonight, a growing crescent Moon will be visible near the Pleiades star cluster from various locations across the planet.

Another planetary conjunction ahead!

If you have missed the conjunction of Venus and Moon, then don't fret! Just look up as you may witness another surreal view of the five planetary parade. Starting from March 23 and continuing till March 30, sky-watchers can observe a rare sight of the waxing crescent Moon seemingly touring five planets: Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, and Mars, visible soon after sunset.

While Venus and Mars will be easily visible to the naked eye, observing brightening Mercury and dimming Jupiter may require stargazing binoculars or a telescope. Additionally, spotting Uranus would undoubtedly require such tools since it is typically just beyond the limit of naked-eye visibility, livescience.com reported.

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First Published Date: 25 Mar, 15:56 IST
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