                        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 March 5
      Two bright objects are pictured very near each other in night sky
       filled with stars. A beach is in the foreground, with some lit
     structures visible across the water. Please see the explanation for
                         more detailed information.

                        Jupiter and Venus over Italy
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Giovanni Tumino

   Explanation: What are those two bright spots? Planets. A few days ago,
   the two brightest planets in the night sky passed within a single
   degree of each other in what is termed a conjunction. Visible just
   after sunset in much of the world, the two bright spots were Jupiter
   (left) and Venus (right). The featured image was taken near closest
   approach from Cirica, Sicily, Italy. The week before, Venus was rising
   higher in the sunset sky to meet the dropping Jupiter. Now they have
   switched places. Of course, Venus remains much closer to both the Sun
   and the Earth than Jupiter -- the apparent closeness between the
   planets in the sky of Earth was only angular. You can still see the
   popular pair for an hour or so after sunset this month although they
   continue to separate, and Jupiter continues to set earlier each night.

      Jupiter & Venus Conjunction Gallery: Notable Submissions to APOD
                    Tomorrow's picture: balancing planets
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

