Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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. 2026 September 15 [2]A blue sky has a light cloud crossing the middle of the image. Two crescent objects are visible through the cloud, a large faint crescent in the center and a brighter crescent above it. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. A Daytime Eclipse: Moon Occults Venus Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Arnaud Mariat Explanation: There was something behind the clouds. Upon close inspection, it was the [4]Moon, which was hard to see yesterday around noon above the small village of [5]Cessy, [6]France. But soon, it was not only [7]the Moon. As expected, a bright dot suddenly appeared from behind the Moon -- the planet [8]Venus far in the distance. Captured in the single [9]featured exposure, both appeared to show a [10]crescent phase. The Moon's [11]crescent was quite slight -- with only about 10 percent of its face illuminated by [12]the Sun. In contrast, [13]Venus's crescent was more full -- showing about 25 percent illumination. Venus appeared brighter because it is nearer the Sun and because its [14]clouds are more reflective than the [15]dark lunar surface. An [16]occultation of [17]Venus by the Moon is visible to only about 10 percent of [18]the Earth, but in yesterday's event even most of that was experiencing [19]daytime. APOD's main NASA site is [20]moving: From [21]apod.nasa.gov to [22]science.nasa.gov/apod Tomorrow's picture: galactic eye __________________________________________________________________ [23]< | [24]Archive | [25]Submissions | [26]Index | [27]Search | [28]Calendar | [29]RSS | [30]Education | [31]About APOD | [32]Discuss | [33]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell ([37]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [38]Specific rights apply. [39]NASA Web Privacy, [40]Accessibility, [41]Notices; A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC, [45]NASA Science Activation & [46]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2609/MoonVenus_Mariat_1410.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/arnomariat/ 4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240915.html 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessy 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France 7. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/ 8. https://science.nasa.gov/venus/ 9. https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRTG7osLTK/ 10. https://unsplash.com/photos/orange-tabby-cat-leaning-on-multicolored-striped-mat-XpiPvnx0H5M 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230527.html 12. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240108.html 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Venus#Clouds 15. https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/psd/lunar-science/internal_resources/615/albedo-scale.png 16. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/occultation 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231116.html 18. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/ 19. https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2001-july-28-a-daytime-fireball-in-1944/ 20. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=45023 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/ 22. https://science.nasa.gov/apod 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260914.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 29. https://apod.com/feed.rss 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 32. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260915 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260916.html 34. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/ 35. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/ 36. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087 37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 40. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 42. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 45. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/ 46. http://www.mtu.edu/