NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 6 March 2023: Poland special! | Tech News

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 6 March 2023: Poland special!

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is a stunning picture of Venus-Jupiter planetary conjunction captured over Polish skies in 2012.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Mar 06 2023, 14:27 IST
Top NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Week: Crescent Moon, Flaming Nebula, Venus to Jupiter
Venus and Jupiter
1/5 Venus-Jupiter Conjunction (Feb 27) - features the view of Venus and Jupiter, but with an unusual ray of light extending from the horizon. It is known as Zodiacal light, a band of dust reflecting sunlight from the inner Solar System which becomes noticeable during certain periods when observed after sunset or before sunrise. (NASA/Ruslan Merzlyakov)
Venus and Jupiter
2/5 Crescent Moon and the Temple of Poseidon (Feb 28) - It is a stunning snapshot of the thin crescent Moon with the ancient Greek Temple of Poseidon at the forefront in Greece. According to NASA, the moonlight we see on Earth is sunlight reflected off the Moon's grayish-white surface. (NASA/Elias Chasiotis)
Venus and Jupiter
3/5 Flaming Nebula, Tadpole Nebula and Comet ZTF (March 1) - Flaming Star Nebula and the Tadpole Nebula can be seen crossing paths with the Comet ZTF. IC405, otherwise known as the Flaming Star Nebula, lies about 1,500 light-years away toward the constellation of Auriga and spans about 5 light-years across.  (NASA/Thomas Roell)
Venus and Jupiter
4/5 Spiral Galaxies NGC 3169 and NGC 3166 (March 2) - It is a stellar snapshot of Spiral Galaxy NGC 3169 and its neighbour NGC 3166. NGC 3169 is located almost 70 million light-years away in the constellation of Sextans (the Sextant). According to NASA, it is part of the Leo I Group of galaxies which is part of a larger galactic congregation known as the Virgo Supercluster.  (NASA/Mike Selby/Mark Hanson)
Venus and Jupiter
5/5 Supernova Remnant RCW 86 (March 3) - After the supernova explosion, its remnants are left behind, which are known as Supernova Remnants (SNR). NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is an extremely rare and historical snapshot of Supernova Remnant RCW 86 which spans around 100 light-years and is located nearly 8000 light-years away.  (NASA/CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA)
Venus and Jupiter
icon View all Images
Venus and Jupiter were captured in the night skies over Poland. (NASA/Marek Nikodem)

Just days ago, the skies were dominated by a planetary conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, where the two planets were very close to each other in the night sky. Although both planets were already visible, this conjunction brought them even closer together and it presented an amazing opportunity for astronomers and skywatchers alike to witness this amazing, rare phenomenon. Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system, met with Venus, the hottest planet in the constellation Pisces.

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a stunning picture of Planetary Conjunction involving Jupiter and Venus as it took over the skies back in 2012. It was captured in Szubin, Poland, by creating an illusion of both planets being balanced on two hands. The credit for capturing this mesmerizing picture goes to Marek Nikodem, a night sky photographer based in Poland.

What is a Planetary Conjunction?

Planetary conjunction simply signifies that two planets appear close together in Earth's night sky. Thankfully, in the case of our Earth's solar system, such planetary conjunctions happen way too frequently because our sister planets travel around the Sun in an almost similar ecliptic plane.

NASA's description of the picture

It was visible around the world. The sunset conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in 2012 was visible almost no matter where you lived on Earth. Anyone on the planet with a clear western horizon at sunset could see them. Pictured here in 2012, a creative photographer traveled away from the town lights of Szubin, Poland to image a near closest approach of the two planets.

The bright planets were then separated only by three degrees and his daughter struck a humorous pose. A faint red sunset still glowed in the background. Jupiter and Venus are together again this month after sunset, passing within a degree of each other about a week ago.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 06 Mar, 14:26 IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS