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image credit & copyright: James W. Young



what's that spot next to the Moon ?

- Venus


the crescent Moon slowly drifted past Venus, appearing within just one degree at its closest

currently, the Moon appears to be brightening, as seen from the Earth, as the fraction of its face illuminated by the Sun continues to increase

in a few days, the Moon will appear more than half full, and therefore be in its gibbous phase

next week the face of the Moon that always faces the Earth will become, as viewed from the Earth, completely illuminated by the Sun

don't worry about our Luna getting tired, though, because she'll be new again next month (moon-th) -- just as she causes another partial eclipse of the Sun

pictured, Venus and the Moon were captured from Cannon Beach above a rock formation off the Oregon (USA) coast known as the Needles

about an hour after this image was taken, the spin of the Earth caused both Venus and the Moon to set




































in apod.nasa.gov/apod