An Evening Sky Full of Planets over Mount Etna, Italy

An Evening Sky Full of Planets over Mount Etna, Italy

Only Mercury is missing from a Solar System parade of planets in this early evening skyscape. Rising nearly opposite the Sun, bright Mars is at the far left. The other naked-eye planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus, can also be spotted, with the positions of too-faint Uranus and Neptune marked near the arcing trace of the ecliptic plane. On the far right and close to the western horizon after sunset is a young crescent Moon whose surface is partly illuminated by earthshine. In the foreground of the composite panorama captured on January, 2, 2025, planet Earth is represented by Mount Etna's lower Silvestri Crater on the island of Sicily—an autonomous region of Italy. Of course Earth's early evening skies are full of planets for the entire month of January 2025. On January 13, a nearly Full Moon will appear to pass in front of Mars for skywatchers in the continental U.S. and Eastern Canada.

Image Credit & Copyright: Dario Giannobile

Dario's website: https://www.dariogiannobile.com
Release Date: Jan. 11, 2025

#NASA #FoN #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Earth #Moon #Planets #Venus #Mars #Jupiter #Saturn #Uranus #Neptune #SolarSystem #MountEtna #Sicily #Sicilia #Italy #Italia #Astrophotographer #DarioGiannobile #Astrophotography #Photography #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD