火星与土星的近合

2022年4月9日

Mars-Saturn Conjunction
Image Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach

Explanation: Fainter stars in the zodiacal constellation Capricornus are scattered near the plane of the ecliptic in this field of view. The two brightest ones at center aren’t stars at all though, but the planets Mars and Saturn. Taken on the morning of April 4, the telescopic snapshot captured their tantalizing close conjunction in a predawn sky, the pair of planets separated by only about 1/3 of a degree. That’s easily less than the apparent width of a Full Moon. Can you tell which planet is which? If you guessed Mars is the redder one , you’d be right. Above Mars, slightly fainter Saturn still shines with a paler yellowish tinge in reflected sunlight. Even at the low magnification, Saturn’s largest and brightest moon Titan can be spotted hugging the planet very closely on the left.

Tomorrow’s picture: in the shadows

火星与土星的近合
影像提供与版权: Damian Peach

说明: 在这片视野中，黄道星座摩羯座里的较昏暗恒星散布在黄道面附近。不过，影像中心那二颗最亮的天体并不是恒星，而是火星与土星。这幅摄于4月4日清晨的望远镜影像，记录在黎明前的天空，这对行星以约1/3度（小于满月视张角）的间隔发生迷人的近合景象。你能分辨出那颗行星是那个吗？如果你猜火星是较红的那颗，你猜对了。位于火星上方稍暗一点的土星，在反射阳光后散发出淡黄的光芒。即便在低放大倍率下，仍可见到土星最大及最明亮的卫星土卫六，紧贴在土星的左侧。

明日的图片: in the shadows