Planets Align Over Australian Radio Telescope Array

Planets Align Over Australian Radio Telescope Array
Credit & Copyright: Graeme L. White & Glen Cozens (James Cook University)


Planets Align Over Australian Radio Telescope Array Last week, Mercury, Venus, and the Moon all appeared close together in Earth's sky. This picturesque conjunction was caught on camera behind elements of the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) near the town of Narrabri in rural New South Wales. The ATCA consists of six radio telescopes in total, each one larger than a house. Together they form one of the highest resolution measurement devices in the world. Impressive planetary conjunctions occur every few years. Involving the brightest objects in the night sky, this alignment was easy to spot just before sunrise. In the picture, taken on the morning of March 6, Mercury is the highest of the three bright celestial beacons.

照片展示了上周水星，金星，月球合于澳大利亚射电望远镜阵列上的情景。这个迷人的景象是位于望远镜整列后相机拍摄的。这个射电天线阵位于新南威尔士乡下的小镇NARRABI。天线阵由六个射电望远镜组成。每一个都比一座房子要大。这些望远镜组合在一起就构成了世界上分辨率最高的天文观测仪器之一。这样美丽的行星景象，每几年就会发生一次。因为天象中的三个天体都是夜空中最亮的，这个景象在太阳升起前被很容易的捕捉到。在这张3月6日拍摄的照片里，水星是天空中三个“灯塔”中最亮的。