Astronomy Picture of the Day—20180808

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.

2018 August 8

EclipsedMoon and Mars over Mountains

ImageCredit & Copyright: Clément Brustel

Explanation:There is something unusual about this astronomically-oriented photograph. It'snot obvious -- it was discovered only during post-processing. It is not theMoon, although capturing the Moon rising during a total lunar eclipse is quitean unusually interesting sight. (Other interesting images also captured duringlast month's eclipse can be found here.) It is not Mars, found to the lowerright of the Moon, although Mars being captured near its brightest also makesfor an unusually interesting sight. (Mars is visible nearly the entire nightthis month; other interesting images of it can be found here.) It is not theforeground mountains, although the French Alps do provide unusually spectacular perspectives on planet Earth. (Other interesting mountainous starscapes can befound here.) It is the goat.