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.

2022 April 20
The featured image shows four planets lined up behind the
RFK Triboro bridge in New York City. The image was taken 
just before sunrise two days ago. 
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Planet Line over New York Bridge
Image Credit & Copyright: Stan Honda

Explanation: There's an interesting sky to see if you wake up before the Sun. Lined up on toward the eastern horizon are four planets in a row. The planets are so bright they can even be seen from the bright sky inside a city. In fact, the featured image was taken from New York City, USA, with the foreground highlighted by the RFK (Triborough) Bridge. Pictured, the planets are, left to right, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn. The planets all appear in a row because they all orbit the Sun in the same plane. This plane, called the ecliptic plane, was created in the early days of our Solar System and includes all planets, including Earth. The morning planet parade will continue throughout April and May, and will even be joined by Mercury in June.

APOD volunteer programming opportunity: Discord
Tomorrow's picture: open space


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