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Last night’s moon and two star clusters

Posted by in Today's Image | January 12, 2014

The moon is now moving through a region of sky filled with bright stars. On January 11, the moon was near two star clusters, the Hyades and the Pleiades.

View larger. | EarthSky Facebook friend Cath Cooper captured this beautiful photo of the moon on January 11, 2014. See the V-shaped pattern? It is a star cluster, which we call the Hyades. The dipper-shaped Pleiades star cluster is also nearby.

View larger. | EarthSky Facebook friend Cath Cooper in the U.K. captured this beautiful photo of the moon on January 11, 2014. See the V-shaped pattern? It is a star cluster, which we call the Hyades. The bright star in the V is not part of the cluster. That star is called Aldebaran. The dipper-shaped Pleiades star cluster is also nearby.

Use moon and stars to imagine Pioneer 10 in space January 12. Jupiter nearby.

Moon moving toward Jupiter on January 13

Close pairing of moon and Jupiter on January 14

2014’s smallest full moon on January 15-16. Jupiter nearby.

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.

Tonight

In mid-April, look west after sunset for Mars and the moon

Chart: 4 positions of crescent moon along steep ecliptic line with Mars, Pleiades, Aldebaran labeled.

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