This picture was taken at about 4:55 am on July 19, 2001 near my home in Colfax, CA. Mercury sits just off the lower right edge of the very thin crescent Moon. Even though Mercury is really about 1.4 times the size of the Moon, it was 422 times further away in this photo.



This picture was taken only 20 minutes later from my own yard. It shows just how quickly the Moon moves in relation to the background stars and planets.



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