Old Moon and Sister Stars
影像版權與提供: Vincent Jacques
Explanation:
An old crescent Moon shares the eastern sky over Menton, France with the sister stars of the Pleiades cluster in this early morning skyscape recorded just last Friday, June 23rd. (Bright Venus was also near the eastern horizon, but is not pictured here.) Astronomical images of the well-known Pleiades often show the cluster's alluring blue reflection nebulae, but they are washed out here by the bright moonlight. Still, while the crescent Moon is overexposed, surface features can be seen on the dim lunar night side illuminated by earthshine - light from sunlit planet Earth. Of course, you can spot a young crescent Moon in the early evening sky tonight. Having left the Pleiades behind, a lovely lunar crescent now appears in the west, lining up with planets Mars, Saturn, and Mercury along the solar system's ecliptic plane.
說明:
這幅6月23日(星期五)在法國．芒通 (Menton)拍攝的清晨夜空影像裡，可見到東方天空中的殘月及昴宿星團內的姐妹星。明亮的金星也在東方的地平面附近，但並沒出現在這幅影像裡。著名昴宿星團的天文影像，通常會呈現星團內迷人的反射星雲，但在這張影像裡，它被明亮的月光給掩蓋了。雖然下弦月的亮區過度曝光，但在地球反照光(被地球向日面所反射的陽光)的照耀下，可以清楚認出暗區的表面特徵。今晚，你在初晚的天空可見到一輪新月。在離開昴宿星團後，美麗的新月現在現身在西方的天空，和火星、土星、水星一同排列在太陽系的黃道面上。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
