Caption: 這張由美國宇航局水手10號探測器拍攝的照片展示了用肉眼觀察時金星的樣子。金星被籠罩在以二氧化碳為主的厚厚的大氣中，從未露出炙熱的表面。
Credit: 美國宇航局/JPL-加州理工學院 credit link

Caption: This image is a computer-aided rendering of the surface of the planet Venus. Since visual light cannot penetrate the thick clouds in Venus' atmosphere, the image was obtained with radio waves. NASA's space probe Megallan, launched in 1989 mapped Venus' surface between 1990 and 1994.
Credit: NASA/JPL credit link

Caption: Winner in the 2022 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Still images of celestial patterns. This image composition is amazing. In the far background of the landscape we see a chain of mountains that seems to mirror the structure of the Milky Way in the sky above. The strong daylight-like colours of the landscape are caused by the Moon, the bright light at the top of the image. Taken in Kinabalu, Malaysia, in February 2019, this image shows the alignment of planets and the Moon, conveying the idea of the ecliptic as the central line of the Zodiac, the plane within which all planets orbit the Sun. The ecliptic is the central line of the Zodiac, so the region of about five to 10 degrees either side of the ecliptic is where the constellations of the Zodiac are located. Starting from the horizon towards the bottom left of the image we can see the planets Venus, Saturn and Jupiter. The planets have different cultural significance for people around the world, and are deeply embedded in social, religious and practical aspects of life. For example, Wardaman traditions of Indigenous Australians associate the planets with ancestor spirits who traverse the Celestial Road (ecliptic). The appearance and disappearance of planets in the sky are associated with various ceremonies. For example, when Venus starts being the “Morning star” after having been the “Evening star”, this marks the Banumbirr ceremony for the Yolnu people of Arnhem Land, in Australia. The image also shows the constellations Scorpius, Aquila, Lupus and Triangulum Australe, the asterism of the Teapot, and the two pointer stars Alpha and Beta Centauri. The constellations, asterisms and individual stars within them have significance in many different cultures. Malaysia, being close to the equator, has had connections to the north as well as to the south and almost the whole sky is visible over the course of the year. The star Antares is seen by the Kokatha people of the Western Desert as Kogolongo, the red tailed black cockatoo, while the Boorong refer to it as Djuit, the red-rumped parrot. The two stars which form the stinger of Scorpius (Shaula and Lesath), are called Karik Karik, the Australian Kestrel.
Credit: Likai Lin/IAU OAE

Caption: Winner in the 2022 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Still images of celestial patterns.   Taken in Romania in August 2012, this image shows two of the most recognisable constellations in the sky, Orion and Taurus. Orion, the Hunter, is found near the horizon. The most prominent star visible in this image is Betelgeuse, while the asterism of Orion’s belt is formed by three aligned bright stars. Just above Orion we can find Taurus, one of the constellations of the Zodiac. As the Zodiac is inherited from Babylon, The Bull of Heaven represents a mighty but dangerous creature that was defeated by King Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu. They cut the Bull in half and sacrificed the animal to the gods in order to protect their people. Taurus is also home to the star cluster Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters. Two planets are visible: Venus, the bright spot near the fence, and Jupiter, the bright spot at the top, next to the Bull’s face. Different cultures have included the stars of these constellations in their own mythology. The Romanians, for instance, after Christianisation identified four other constellations using some of the stars of Orion and others surrounding it. One such constellation is called Trisfetitele (the Three Saints), which is associated with the three stars comprising Orion's Belt, representing the Three Hierarchs Basil, Gregory and John. This same asterism is also called Three Wise Men, Kings from the East or just Three Kings — all of these names being rooted in the Christian religion. The agricultural calendar, in contrast, led farmers to define two other constellations, the Little Plough and the Sickle. Both are seen in the southern half of the Orion rectangle; the Little Plough is drawn by connecting the southern quadrilateral with Orion’s left shoulder, and the Sickle is formed by connecting Orion’s left foot (Rigel) with the belt stars, forming an arch and completing the form of a hoe. In the cultural calendar, these constellations were used to announce the harvest of wheat/grain. Finally, the fourth Romanian constellation is the Great Auger, where Orion’s belt represents the handle of the auger, and Betelgeuse is the tip, facing towards Pollux in Gemini. This constellation is associated with treasure, as Romanian peasants believe that the Auger points to the treasure when they approach the end of the world. Most of the official star names in Orion are Arabic; Mintaka (meaning “belt”) is at the waist; Alnitak (meaning “girdle”) and Alnilam (meaning “string”) are at the belt; and Rigel (meaning foot) is at the left foot. The star on the left shoulder is named Bellatrix, the Latin term for a female warrior. The star at the right leg is called Saiph, for the sword or sabre of the Arabic Orion.
Credit: Alex Conu/IAU OAE

Caption: 這組精美的圖像是在2019年12月17日至2020年5月25日期間，在多米尼加共和國的聖多明各拍攝的，展示了在地球上看到的金星相位。當金星和地球圍繞太陽運行時，我們觀察到金星被陽光照亮的不同半球部分，與月相類似。序列圖的下方清晰地展示了金星在較遠位置時，呈現為小而明亮的凸狀，並最終在接近太陽時達到所有行星中最大的視直徑（圖像上方），呈現為一細長的弦狀。在最後一幀中，僅有2.8%的金星表面被照亮。
Credit: 克里斯托弗·巴埃斯/國際天文學聯合會教育辦公室 (CC BY 4.0)

Caption: 這是2015年在法國濱海夏朗德省的敘熱爾拍攝的令人著迷的金星系列照片，歷時六個月。這些相位與我們所看到的月相非常相似，且成因也相近。金星只有半邊被太陽照亮，而從地球上看，我們有時只能看到被照亮部分的一部分，這取決於太陽、地球和金星的相對位置。由於水星和金星的軌道都位於太陽和地球軌道之內，它們都會因此呈現出相位變化。金星的相位會隨著其相對於太陽和地球的位置變化而漸變。這一系列照片生動地展現了金星從‘凸狀’到纖細‘弦狀’的相位轉變。使用紅外濾鏡能讓我們在白天捕捉到金星緻密而永久雲層的清晰細節，為人們提供了一個觀察這顆神祕行星大氣層的獨特視角。
Credit: 斯特凡·岡薩雷斯/國際天文學聯合會教育辦公室 (CC BY 4.0)

Caption: 這張照片是 2023 年 2 月在美國賓夕法尼亞州盧澤恩縣上空用智能手機拍攝的，讓我們得以一窺合相現象，這是一種迷人的天文現象，當從我們的視角看到兩個或兩個以上的天體在天空中緊緊相鄰時就會發生這種現象，儘管這些天體實際上並不靠近彼此。在這張照片中，木星（上面）的光輝、金星的魅力（中間）和月亮熟悉的光芒（下麵）在微妙的雲層和樹線輪廓的背景下翩翩起舞，這一刻值得珍藏。
Credit: Joslynn Appel/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)

Caption: 在這張合成圖中，可以看到水星（左）和金星（右）都在向日落進發。水星和金星降落時的相位都被捕捉到了，非常漂亮。從地球上看，太陽系中並非所有行星或衛星都會出現相位。出現這種現象是因為金星和水星的軌道位於地球軌道和太陽之間，有時我們只能看到每顆行星某一部分受到光照。它們的相位與我們看到的月球相位相似。
Credit: 瑪塞拉-朱利亞-佩斯 (CC BY 4.0)