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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.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Venus, Moon, and the Smoking Mountain

Explanation: Venus has returned , now appearing in planet Earth's predawn skies as a brilliant morning star . From a window seat on a flight to Mexico City, the bright celestial beacon was captured just before sunrise in this astronomical snapshot, taken on September 12. Venus, at the upper right, shared the early twilight with an old crescent Moon . Seen from this stratospheric perspective, mountain peaks and clouds appear in silhouette along a glowing eastern horizon. The dramatic, long, low cloud bank was created by ongoing venting from planet Earth's active volcano Popocatépetl .

Date September 15, 2023
Credit Image Credit & Copyright: Luis Miguel Meade Rodríguez
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.