SUNSET PLANETS

 Last night, the crescent Moon passed by Venus, producing a conjunction of such beauty it stopped traffic. "I was driving on Interstate 70 to Grand Junction, Colorado, when I noticed the conjunction." says Malcom Park. "I just had to stop for a better look." He snapped this picture from the banks of the Colorado River:

 Photo details: Nikon D3, ISO 1600, 2 seconds, f2.8

The show continues tonight as the Moon moves past Venus to form a isosceles triangle with Saturn and Mars. Scanning the vertices with a backyard telescope will quickly reveal mountains and craters on the Moon, the rings of Saturn, and the red disk of Mars. No telescope is required, however, to enjoy the show. Your eyes are all you need. Look west at sunset! Sky maps: July 14, 15, 16.

more images: from Rafael Gallego of Carrión de los Céspedes, Sevilla, Spain; from Amir H. Abolfath of Dizin, Tehran, Iran; from Stefano De Rosa of Bologna (Italy); from David Blanchard of Flagstaff, Arizona; from Marcus Vinícius do Prado Jr. of Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; from Paco Burguera Catalá of La Albufera de Valencia, Spain; from Amir H. Abolfath of Dizin, Tehran, Iran; from Stefano De Rosa of Bologna, Italy; from Aymen Ibrahem of Alexandria, Egypt; from Mohamad Soltanolkottabi of Esfahan, Iran; from Miguel Claro of Capuchos, Almada, Portugal;

Sumber :
http://spaceweather.com/