On April 15th -- Tax Day -- the planets Venus and Mercury were visited by a very young crescent Moon. Only 3% of the Moon's visible area was sunlit, providing the picturesque view above. Although technically in a shadow, the rest of the Moon was still nicely illuminated by earthshine.
Underneath the Moon is the relatively tiny dot representing the innermost planet Mercury -- normally so close to the Sun that we can't see it. Here is a zoomed-up view that shows both earthshine and Mercury more clearly:
By the way, a "3% Moon" is very thin. Here is a close-up view of the Moon that evening, exposed for the crescent:
The next day, the planets were too far apart to make an interesting group picture. However, the still-young crescent Moon (7% this time) wandered near the Pleiades -- a cluster of seven bright stars often mistaken for the Little Dipper. While I was taking the shot, another traveling light joined the picture -- an airliner on its way to PDX.
It's great to see the sky again -- two days in a row! -- now that the Oregon rainy season is drawing to a close. :-)
