See the 2 bright lights just under the moon, on either side of it? They are Mars and Saturn. The fainter star below is really one of the brightest stars in the sky, Antares in the constellation Scorpius. Planets and moon on March 29, 2016 from Nikolaus Pantazis in Vouliaagmeni, Greece.Planets and moon on March 29, 2016 from Karl Diefenderfer in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.Planets and moon on March 29, 2016 from Tom Wildoner in Weatherly, Pennsylvania.Notice where these shots are taken. You can see that, as Earth turns, brining the moon into view for locations further west, the moon is moving, too. On March 29, as the hours passed, the moon was shifting closer to Saturn. Photo by Amy Dengler in Basalt, Colorado.Planets and moon on March 29, 2016 from Ken Gallagher in Lake Havasu, Arizona.In this photo, notice that the moon is farther to the west (right) of the planets. That’s partly because the photo was shot a day earlier than the other photos on this page, on March 28, 2016, by Matthew Chin in Hong Kong.
Bottom line: Photos from the EarthSky community of the moon’s sweep this week past two bright planets – Mars and Saturn – and the star Antares in the constellation Scorpius, in the predawn sky from around the world.
Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. 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.
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