May 26, 2007
Somewhere above you, light is arriving from places so distant their names feel like poetry.
The Moon's Saturn
Birthday · May 26, 2007
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published May 26, 2007. Credit: Jens Hackmann. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
On May 22nd, just days after sharing the western evening sky with Venus, the Moon moved on to Saturn - actually passing in front of the ringed planet when viewed in skies over Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia. Because the Moon and bright planets wander through the sky near the ecliptic plane, such occultation events are not uncommon, but they are dramatic, especially in telescopic views. For example, in this sharp image Saturn is captured emerging from behind the Moon, giving the illusion that it lies just beyond the Moon's bright edge. Of course, the Moon is a mere 400 thousand kilometers away, compared to Saturn's distance of 1.4 billion kilometers. Taken with a digital camera and 20 inch diameter telescope at the Weikersheim Observatory in southern Germany, the picture is a single exposure adjusted to reduce the difference in brightness between Saturn and the cratered lunar surface.
Image credit: Jens Hackmann