Venus is now appearing on the celestial stage as Earth's brilliant evening star, performing with the Moon, other wandering planets, and bright stars in western skies.
For evening sky gazers on June 17, the celestial beacon rose after sunset close by a young, slender, crescent Moon.
But from some locations the Moon could be seen to occult or pass in front of Venus. And from a backyard observatory in southern British Columbia, Canada, the lunar occultation was played out in daylight.
This stunning telescopic snapshot captured a scene in dramatically cloudy skies, following Venus' hour long disappearance, as the evening star emerged beyond the bright lunar limb.
Image Credit & Copyright: Debra Ceravolo
Day 127, orbit 1968 — That aurora was absolutely spectacular… shimmering and dancing beneath us, stretching as far as the eye could see, and so intense it lit up the Station in shades of green 💚.
We’ve seen several since the beginning of the mission, but this one was on a completely different level – far too bright for my usual aurora camera settings.
Moments like these never get old up here; the whole crew suddenly find themselves vying for a good spot at a window 😊
📸 @esa / @NASA – S. Adenot
#εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @esaspaceweather • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson
Smile! Tomorrow is the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice! 😎☀️
This “sunny smile” is made of coronal holes — darker, cooler regions on the Sun where solar material escapes to space at incredible speeds. 🕳️
More on coronal holes in this episode of NASA’s Illuminate.👇
💭❤💜
Clouds of Andromeda 🌌
The beautiful Andromeda Galaxy is often photographed by astronomers from Earth. Also known as M31, the nearest large spiral galaxy is an intimate spectacle, with its dark dust strips, bright yellow core, and spiral arms outlined by the blue star light.