Explanation: On May 22nd, just days after sharing the western evening sky
with Venus, the Moon moved
on to Saturn - actually passing in front of the ringed planet when viewed in skies over Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia. Because the Moon and bright planets wander through the sky near the
ecliptic plane, such
occultation events are not uncommon, but they are
dramatic, especially in telescopic views. For example, in this sharp image Saturn is captured
emerging from behind the Moon, giving the illusion that it lies just beyond the Moon's bright edge. Of course, the Moon is a mere 400 thousand kilometers away, compared to Saturn's distance of 1.4
billion kilometers.
Taken with a digital camera and 20 inch diameter telescope at the
Weikersheim Observatory in southern Germany, the picture is a single exposure adjusted to reduce the difference in brightness between Saturn and the cratered lunar surface.
在5月22号，在与金星分享了西边傍晚的天空仅仅几天後，月亮移动到了土星那儿-实际上当在欧洲、北美和西亚的天空看起来，月亮是在环行星前面通过。因为月亮和亮行星都是在黄道平面附近运行，像这种掩食事件虽然不常见，但他们都非常戏剧性，尤其是在望远镜中看。例如，这张明亮的照片捕捉了土星刚刚从月亮后面出来的那一刻，它给人一种错觉，土星仅仅位于月亮明亮的边缘之后。当然，月亮位于400，000公里之外，与之相比，土星的距离则在1.4亿公里之外。使用在南德国Weikersheim 天文台的数码相机和20英寸望远镜，这张照片仅曝光了一次和调整以减少土星和满布陨石坑的月面之间的亮度。
