Posted on Nov 14, 2020

APOD: 2020 November 14 - Venus, Mercury, and the Waning Moon

Maj William W. 'Bill' Price

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Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Venus, Mercury, and the Waning Moon." We travel again to Italy and find ourselves on the island of Ortigia (Sicily) with a view of yesterday's sunrise taken from a simple camera. In addition to the waning Moon, we see arrayed to the right Venus (one o'clock), Spica (three thirty), and Mercury (six thirty). Spica is in the constellation Virgo, and is one of the 20 brightest objects in the night sky. It is also a spectroscopic binary star and rotating ellipsoidal variable; a system whose two stars are so close together they are egg-shaped rather than spherical, and can only be separated by their spectra. The Moon is new tonight, so if you've got clear skies you should be able to see some of the Leonid meteor shower. The constellation Leo rises in the ENE around 1AM EST, so if you're up early you may see a meteor or two.

APOD: 2020 November 14 - Venus, Mercury, and the Waning Moon

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LTC Stephen F.

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Paul McCartney & Wings Venus and Mars Extended Version

Always loved this song, so I took the liberty to combine Venus and Mars and it's reprise and made it into a extended version. (made from the 2014 remasters)

Thank you my friend Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for Saturday, November 14, 2020 entitled "Venus, Mercury, and the Waning Moon."

I hope everybody is enjoying a wonderful weekend :-)

Image: Venus, Mercury, and the Waning Moon - Image Credit & Copyright - Kevin Sargozza

We can thank Latin-writing folks for the names of the planets associated with Roman gods [Mercury] and goddesses [Venus]. Most of us realize that those mythical beings were based on imagining and profit for temple masters. God is the author and sustainer of all creation

APOD background
"Explanation: Yesterday, early morning risers around planet Earth were treated to a waning Moon low in the east as the sky grew bright before dawn. From the Island of Ortigia, Syracuse, Sicily, Italy this simple snapshot found the slender sunlit crescent just before sunrise. Never wandering far from the Sun in Earth's sky, inner planets Venus and Mercury shared the calm seaside view. Also in the frame, right of the line-up of Luna and planets, is bright star Spica, alpha star of the constellation Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in Earth's night. Tomorrow the Moon will be New. The dark lunar disk means mostly dark nights for planet Earth in the coming week and a good chance to watch the annual Leonid Meteor Shower."

Paul McCartney & Wings Venus and Mars Extended Version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLYnL7IGx7g

FYI Maj Robert Thornton Lt Col Charlie Brown COL Mikel J. Burroughs Sgt (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen SGT Denny Espinosa Sgt Vance Bonds MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. TSgt David L. SPC Nancy Greene PO2 (Join to see) SSG Michael Noll SPC Margaret Higgins Maj Marty Hogan SMSgt David A Asbury SMSgt Lawrence McCarter

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