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 May 20

                    Moon, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Milk Way
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Mihail Minkov

   Explanation: It is not a coincidence that planets line up. That's
   because all of the planets orbit the Sun in (nearly) a single sheet
   called the plane of the ecliptic. When viewed from inside that plane --
   as Earth dwellers are likely to do -- the planets all appear confined
   to a single band. It is a coincidence, though, when three of the
   brightest planets all appear in nearly the same direction. Such a
   coincidence was captured about a month ago. Featured above, Earth's
   Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter were all imaged together, just before
   sunrise, from the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. A second band is visible
   diagonally across this image -- the central band of our Milky Way
   Galaxy. If you wake up early, you will find that these same planets
   remain visible in the morning sky this month, too.

    Astrophysicists: Browse 2,100+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code
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                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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