Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2026 April 29
       [2]The crescent Moon, Venus, and the Pleiades travel across the
      twilight sky. The silhouettes of a few beach flowers decorate the
                                 foreground.

                      The Moon, Venus, and the Pleiades
                 Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Gianni Tumino
   Text: [4]Keighley Rockcliffe ([5]NASA [6]GSFC, [7]UMBC CSST, [8]CRESST
                                     II)

   Explanation: No, Earth did not recently acquire six more moons!
   [9]Today’s APOD is a combination of images following the Moon, Venus,
   and [10]the Pleiades across a southern Sicilian sky as twilight turned
   to evening on April 19. From 2023 to 2029, the Pleiades' and the Moon
   “[11]visit" each other once per month due to the Pleiades' location in
   [12]the ecliptic plane. April 2026 saw the celestial alignment of their
   visit with [13]Venus. About six stars in the Pleiades cluster
   ([14]Messier 45) are typically visible with the unaided eye. Due to the
   cluster’s visibility across the world, there are many myths and legends
   across cultures associated with the Pleiades. [15]The Haudenosaunee
   people of North America, [16]for example, say that seven boys danced so
   enthusiastically that they lifted off into the sky. [17]Astronomers
   recently found thousands more Pleiades members, showing that after
   thousands of years of gazing upon this cluster, there is yet more to
   learn about the Pleiades.

                     Tomorrow's picture: Waves on Titan
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([32]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [33]Specific rights apply.
            [34]NASA Web Privacy, [35]Accessibility, [36]Notices;
                A service of: [37]ASD at [38]NASA / [39]GSFC,
                         [40]NASA Science Activation
                           & [41]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2604/moon_venus_pleiades.jpg
   3. https://www.facebook.com/giovanni.tumino.58/
   4. https://kerockcliffe.com/
   5. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/keighley.e.rockcliffe
   6. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
   7. https://csst.umbc.edu/directory/
   8. https://cresst2.umd.edu/
   9. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Caa7mfotN/
  10. https://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/pleiades-star-cluster-enjoys-worldwide-renown/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250408.html
  12. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-ecliptic-what-is-the-ecliptic/
  13. https://science.nasa.gov/venus/
  14. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-45/
  15. https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/who-we-are/
  16. https://nightskytourist.com/pleiades/
  17. https://science.nasa.gov/missions/tess/nasas-tess-spacecraft-triples-size-of-pleiades-star-cluster/
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260428.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  24. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  27. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260429
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260430.html
  29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  37. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  40. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  41. http://www.mtu.edu/