June 22, 2006
A birthday is what happens when cosmic time briefly puts down the scale of eons and pays attention to a single human year.
Planets, Bees, and a Donkey
Birthday · June 22, 2006
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APOD published June 22, 2006. Credit: Chris Schur. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The heralded alignment of wandering planets Saturn and Mars with the well-known Beehive Cluster took place last weekend on Saturday, June 17. Recorded in dark Arizona skies on that date, this view finds Mars above and right of Saturn - the brightest celestial beacons in the scene - with the Beehive cluster of stars (M44) at the lower right. The two planets appear in conjunction separated by just over half a degree. But about another half a degree along a line joining the two and continuing towards the lower left lies the third brightest object in the image, giant star Asellus Australis. Asellus Australis is also known as Delta Cancri, a middling bright star 136 light-years away in the constellation Cancer, the Crab. Of course, this star's Latin name translates to "Southern Donkey".
Image credit: Chris Schur