                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                               2025 August 15

                      Moonlight, Planets, and Perseids
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

   Explanation: In the predawn sky on August 13, two planets were close.
   And despite the glare of a waning gibbous Moon, bright Jupiter and even
   brighter Venus were hard to miss. Their brilliant close conjunction is
   posing above the eastern horizon in this early morning skyscape. The
   scene was captured in a single exposure from a site near Gansu, China,
   with light from both planets reflected in the still waters of a local
   pond. Also seen against the moonlight were flashes from the annual
   Perseid Meteor Shower, known for its bright, fast meteors. Near the
   much anticipated peak of activity, the shower meteors briefly combined
   with the two planets for a celestial spectacle even in moonlit skies.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

