APOD: 2004 May 8 - Good Morning Sydney (original) (raw)

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.

2004 May 8

Explanation: Rising before dawn on May 5th, Stephen Thorleylooked out across the skyline of Sydney,Australia. And while a leisurelylunar eclipse was clearly in progress, from hisvantage point on planet Earth the Moon set as thetotal phase of the eclipse began. Still, before the setting Moon was hidden by the cityscape he captured this striking image of a nearly eclipsed lunar disksliding past the beacon and lights ofCenterpoint Tower, one of Sydney's familiar landmarks. So what's that star just visible above and to the right of the reddened Moon? That's Zubenelgenubi, of course.