Earthshine and Venus
February 16, 2004
On January 24, 2004, Venus and the Moon made a most striking twosome. This photo, taken from Brittany, France, shows them a little more than 3 degrees apart (approximately 1/3 of a fist in width when held at arm's length). The missing or non illuminated portion of the Moon is filled in by earthshine -- reflected sunlight from the Earth. Dazzling Venus (-4 magnitude) is shown here shining through the limbs of a stoic beech tree. The tiny dot perhaps faintly visible to the right of Venus is the star Lambda Aquarii.