28 July 2005
Three Planets by the Sea
Explanation: On
Tuesday, June 28th, the setting Sun flooded the horizon with a
beautiful warm light in this view from the beach beside the pier at
Brighton in Adelaide, South Australia. The Sun also illuminated
three planets gathered in the western sky, Mercury, Venus, and
Saturn. From this perspective Mercury is at the highest point in
the celestial triangle, brilliant Venus is just below, and Saturn
stands farther to the left and below the close pair. Of course, the
planets only appear close together on the sky but are actually
quite far apart in space. The orbits of Mercury and Venus are both
interior to Earth's orbit, while gas giant Saturn lies in the outer
solar system, over nine astronomical units from the Sun. Late next
week, Venus and Mercury will share western skies with the young
crescent Moon.
Credit &
Copyright: Damian Sparkes
