Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Wed Apr 30 2025 02:03:38

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 April 30
   The featured image shows a night sky over a distant hill. The night sky
   has three bright objects: a crescent moon, the planet Venus (highest),
     and the planet Saturn. Taken together, the moon and planets make a
        happy face icon. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                    A Happy Sky over Bufa Hill in Mexico
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona

   Explanation: Sometimes, the sky itself seems to smile. A few days ago,
   visible over much of the world, an unusual superposition of our Moon
   with the planets Venus and Saturn created just such an iconic facial
   expression. Specifically, a crescent Moon appeared to make a happy face
   on the night sky when paired with seemingly nearby planets. Pictured is
   the scene as it appeared over Zacatecas, M+¬xico, with distinctive Bufa
   Hill in the foreground. On the far right and farthest in the distance
   is the planet Saturn. Significantly closer and visible to Saturn's
   upper left is Venus, the brightest planet on the sky. Just above the
   central horizon is Earth's Moon in a waning crescent phase. To create
   this gigantic icon, the crescent moon phase must be smiling in the
   correct direction.

         Dial-A-Moon: Find the Moon phase on your birthday this year
                   Tomorrow's picture: Mercury's messenger
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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