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Birthday · September 1, 2016

Light at the End of the Road

September 1, 2016

The universe does not repeat itself. Every sunrise is unique, every snowflake singular, and every birthday yours alone.

Light at the End of the Road

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APOD published September 1, 2016. Credit: Josh Calcino. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.

Behind the image

Light at the End of the Road

Original APOD · September 1, 2016

The bright light at the end of this country road is actually a remarkably close conjunction of two planets. After sunset on August 27 brilliant Venus and Jupiter almost appear as a single celestial beacon in the night skyscape taken near Lake Wivenhoe, Queensland, Australia. A spectacular vertical panorama from the southern hemisphere, it shows the central Milky Way near zenith, posed on top of a pillar of Zodiacal light along the ecliptic plane. Of course Mars and Saturn are near the ecliptic too, just below the galaxy's central bulge. Above and left of a tree on the horizon, fleeting planet Mercury also adds to the light at the end of the road.

Image credit: Josh Calcino

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