| NEW MORNING STAR: Venus is passing by the sun today and undergoing a transformation--from Evening Star to Morning Star. For the next eight months, the brightest of all planets will shine in the pre-dawn sky, changing phases, casting shadows, and occasionally posing with the crescent Moon for a lovely photo-op. A new animation from graphic artist Larry Koehn shows what to expect when you wake up in the morning: play it. AIR TRAFFIC JAM: "Last night there was a a lot of traffic over my private observatory," reports Tamas Ladanyi of Veszprem, Hungary. "In a span of only a few minutes, I photographed space shuttle Discovery, the International Space Station, and an airplane passing by." 
Scenes like this are being reported by sky watchers around the world. Discovery and the ISS are circling Earth in tandem, drawing attention to themselves as they glide brightly across the night sky. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker to see if you are favored with a "double flyby" before Discovery lands on March 28th--airplanes not included. more images: from Monika Landy-Gyebnar of Veszprem, Hungary; from Richard Glenn of Gold Beach, Oregon; from Ken Scott of Leland, Michigan; from Jamie Jones of Cheney Washington; from Peter Rosén of Stockholm, Sweden; from John C McConnell of Maghaberry Northern Ireland; from Steve Holmes of Laxfield, Suffolk, UK; from Jason Evans of Eastleigh Hampshire UK; from Pat Boomer of Alberta, Canada; from Alan Conrad of Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada; from Martin Mc Kenna of Maghera, Co. Derry, N. Ireland; CRESCENT MOON ALERT: Tonight, when the sun goes down, step outside and look west. You might see something like this: 
Ugur Ikizler took the picture just hours ago from Mudanya, Turkey. "Tonight's crescent moon hanging low on the western horizon was a lovely sight," he says. "I photographed it using a Hutech modified Canon Rebel XT." more images: from Luca Basili of Rome - Italy; from Amir H. Abolfath of Dizin, Tehran, Iran; from Ulrich C. Beinert in an airplane flying over Dresden, Germany; from Bruno Nolf of Otegem, Belgium; from Tunç Tezel of Bursa, Turkey; from Peter von Bagh of Porvoo, Finland
March 2009 Aurora Gallery
[previous Marches: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002]
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