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Moon-Mercury-Pleiades Conjunction
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Created for the OAE
Caption: Honourable mention in the 2022 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Still images of celestial patterns.
This photograph shows the young lunar crescent, some of the nine brightest stars of the Pleiades (with one behind a cloud) on the right, and the planet Mercury, looking slightly red, in the middle of the image.
This picture is rather suggestive of the idea that the Pleiades might possibly consist of seven stars. However, the viewer is misled by the clouds; five of the stars form a tiny chariot, one is next to the handle, and three are at the other end of the quadrilateral. Eight stars would be clearly visible if there were no clouds.
This configuration of the young Moon next to the Pleiades is visible only in the northern hemisphere spring. Thus it was used by the ancient Babylonians to determine the second month of their year and to judge whether or not an intercalary month was necessary. At least as early as the second millennium before the common era, the Babylonians used several asterisms for each month, with another one of them reappearing every five days after invisibility during daylight. To determine the necessity of intercalation in order to synchronise the solar and the lunar year, the Babylonians used several asterisms, not only the Pleiades. For instance, they also made use of the bright stars Arcturus and Sirius, and they observed a configuration with the Moon as well as heliacal phenomena. The modern Jewish and modern Islamic traditions still make use of some of the Babylonian astronomical rules. However, given that the constellations have shifted as a result of precession, and the fact that nowadays we also have computational means to calculate our calendars, this configuration of the small crescent Moon and the Pleiades is less useful, though it remains exceptionally beautiful. Thus the ancient Babylonian and middle Babylonian tradition survives only rudimentarily. Furthermore, it is unlikely that it is depicted in the Nebra Disc from Bronze Age Europe, as has long been claimed.
This image was taken on Elba Island, Italy, in May 2022.
Credit: Giulio Colombo/ IAU OAE
Glossary Terms:
Conjunction , Mercury , Moon , Waxing Crescent , Crescent Moon , Pleiades
Categories:
Naked Eye Astronomy
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
This file on Zenodo ( image 420.90 kB)
Venus and Mercury Trails
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Created for the OAE
Caption: Honorable mention in the 2023 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category of Still images of phases of Venus.
In this composite image, both Mercury (left) and Venus (right) can be seen heading into the sunset. The phases of each are beautifully captured as they descend. Not all planets or moons in the Solar System show phases as viewed from Earth. This phenomenon occurs because the orbits of Venus and Mercury are positioned between Earth’s orbit and the Sun, sometimes allowing us to see only part of the illuminated portion of each planet. These phases are similar to the phases we see of our own Moon.
Credit: Marcella Giulia Pace (CC BY 4.0)
Glossary Terms:
Mercury , Phase , Venus
Categories:
Solar System
Tags:
astrophotography
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
This file on Zenodo ( image 4.86 MB)
The Speed of Spacecraft
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Caption: This infographic is part of the "Simplifying Astronomy for Arabic Speakers" project, aiming to present scientific concepts in a simple and accessible way. The design focuses on the speed of spacecraft during the various stages of their launch, illustrating how velocity changes as the spacecraft progresses to reach the desired orbit.
Details of the Stages:
Stage One (Launch):
The spacecraft begins its journey by launching from the launch pad with an increasing speed. The velocity in this stage is influenced by Earth's gravity and atmospheric resistance.
After One Minute:
The spacecraft reaches a speed of approximately 1,600 kilometers per hour (km/h), reflecting a rapid acceleration powered by its engines.
After Two and a Half Minutes:
The rocket boosters are jettisoned, allowing the spacecraft to reach a speed of about 4,800 km/h. At this point, the spacecraft becomes lighter, enabling it to accelerate more efficiently.
Final Stage:
By the end of the ascent phase, the spacecraft achieves its final speed of approximately 28,000 km/h, allowing it to enter the desired orbit around Earth.
Through educational designs like this, the project provides enthusiasts with an opportunity to understand the intricate details of space missions in an engaging and simplified manner.
Credit: Ali Al-Edhari ; Background image credit - NASA
Glossary Terms:
Rocket
Language: Arabic
Script: Arabic
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
File
( image
11.88 MB)
Smartphone Partial Eclipse Combined
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Created for the OAE
Caption: Honorable mention in the 2023 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category of Still images taken exclusively with smartphones/mobile devices.
In 2021, Maine, USA, bore witness to a captivating partial solar eclipse, an astronomical spectacle where the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, partially blocking the Sun’s radiant light as viewed from Earth. This image used a smartphone and an app and filter called “Solar Snap”, invented by the photographer, to capture various stages of this celestial phenomenon. It is crucial to note that observing a solar eclipse should only be done with proper eye protection to avoid eye damage caused by direct Sunlight exposure. During a solar eclipse, the Moon reaches a point in its orbit where it is between the Earth and the Sun, resulting in partial or complete coverage of the Sun’s disc, depending on the specific relative positions. This composite image seamlessly combines six distinct moments, presenting the Moon's gradual journey across the Sun’s disc. Each crescent showcased represents a unique phase of this captivating event, offering a fleeting glimpse into the wonder of our natural world. Accessible tools like smartphones, coupled with appropriate apps and filters, enable individuals to safely document and cherish these remarkable celestial events.
Credit: Douglas Duncan/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)
Glossary Terms:
Partial Solar Eclipse
Categories:
Naked Eye Astronomy
, Solar System
Tags:
astrophotography
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
This file on Zenodo ( image 465.84 kB)
A Matter of Perspective
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Created for the OAE
Caption: Second place winner in the 2023 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category of Still images of phases of Venus.
This exquisite series of images, captured from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, between 17 December 2019 and 25 May 2020, shows the phases of Venus as seen from Earth. As Venus and Earth orbit the Sun, we observe different portions of Venus’s sunlit half, similar to the Moon’s phases. The sequence clearly shows Venus as distant, small, bright and gibbous in the lower frames, and ends with Venus reaching the biggest apparent size of all planets (upper frames), very close to the Sun with a small elongation, and appearing as a thin crescent. In the last frame, only 2.8% of the planet’s surface is illuminated.
Credit: Christofer Baez/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)
Glossary Terms:
Phase , Venus
Categories:
Solar System
Tags:
astrophotography
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
This file on Zenodo ( image 339.56 kB)
