Jupiter, Moons and Bees
Credit & Copyright:
Russell Croman
Rising before the Sun on September 4, Jupiter and an
old cresent Moon
gathered in the dim constellation of
Cancer.
Watching from a hillside near Austin, Texas,
planet Earth,
astrophotographer Russell Croman
recorded
this view of their passing
as clouds gracefully dimmed the brilliant moonlight.
Earthshine
illuminates
the lunar night side and on
close inspection,
bright Jupiter at the lower right appears
tightly flanked
by its own four large
Galilean moons.
Next to Jupiter lies a loose swarm of stars just below the clouds.
The stars are the brighter members of the nearby star cluster
M44, popularly known as the Beehive cluster.
Croman's remarkable digital image has been processed only
slightly to improve the visibility of the earthshine region
and Jupiter's moons.