Posted Apr 05, 2008 at 07:16PM by Sally B. Listed in: Celestial Bodies Tags: NASA, Pleiades
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Moon earthshine - Image 1Sometimes, it's best to stop for a moment and appreciate the beauty of nature before it decides to stop you on its own, to get due appreciation. Photographer Doug Zubenel learned that particular lesson when the bright sunlight obscured his vision while he was driving, and made him drive his car straight into a cement railing.

Left with nothing to do, Zubenel was able to appreciate the surroundings while waiting for the tow truck to salvage the car wreckage. The most remarkable being the day-old crescent moon that he was able to take a snapshot of in his idle moments. "It looked a lot better than my car!" said Zubenel.

NASA believes that the particular scenario - where Mother Nature will practically force people to notice her - will repeat itself three times when the moon will display its ethereal beauty. The moon will be at its best for three consecutive nights, from April 6 to 8.

The first two nights will let sky watchers see a Cheshire cat grin-like moon. The moon on April 6 will be a bit hard to spot, but will be more visible on the 7th as the dark portion moon will be faintly illuminated by Earthshine, giving an impression of a bright crescent moon attached to a full moon.

However, the moon display will be at its finest on April 8, when the moon can be seen side by side with the Pleiades, the star cluster that the moon plays with from time to time. You may need to get a pair of binoculars to appreciate the beautiful sight.

Of course, the moon may appear pretty...so pretty, you may total your car if you try to look at them while driving. Better pull over and let yourself enjoy the view, it's safer that way.

[Via NASA] Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

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