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.

                                2020 April 11

                       Venus and the Pleiades in April
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Antonio Finazzi

   Explanation: Shared around world in early April skies Venus, our
   brilliant evening star, wandered across the face of the lovely Pleiades
   star cluster. This timelapse image follows the path of the inner planet
   during the beautiful conjunction showing its daily approach to the
   stars of the Seven Sisters. From a composite of tracked exposures made
   with a telephoto lens, the field of view is also appropriate for
   binocular equipped skygazers. While the star cluster and planet were
   easily seen with the naked-eye, the spiky appearance of our sister
   planet in the picture is the result of a diffraction pattern produced
   by the camera's lens. All images were taken from a home garden in
   Chiuduno, Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy, fortunate in good weather and clear
   spring nights.

     Notable APOD Submissions: Gallery of Venus passing in front of the
                                  Pleiades
              Tomorrow's picture: a horse of a different color
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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