                        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 August 26

                             Crescents of Venus
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Roberto Ortu

   Explanation: Just as the Moon goes through phases, Venus' visible
   sunlit hemisphere waxes and wanes. This sequence of telescopic images
   illustrates the steady changes for Venus during its recent 2023
   apparition as our evening star. Gliding along its interior orbit
   between Earth and Sun, Venus grows larger during that period because it
   is approaching planet Earth. Its crescent narrows though, as the inner
   planet swings closer to our line-of-sight to the Sun. Closest to the
   Earth-Sun line but passing about 8 degrees south of the Sun, on August
   13 Venus reached its (non-judgmental) inferior conjunction. And now
   Venus shines above the eastern horizon in predawn skies, completing its
   transition to planet Earth's morning star. On August 21, NASA's Parker
   Solar Probe completed its sixth gravity assist flyby of Venus, using
   the encounter to maneuver the probe toward its closest approach yet to
   the Sun.

               Tomorrow's picture: Three Galaxies and a Comet
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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