Waning Crescent Moon, Mars, and the Pleiades Before Dawn

My image of the waning crescent Moon, Mars, and the Pleiades star cluster, captured before sunrise from the United Arab Emirates.

In this scene, the thin waning crescent Moon appears near the center of the frame, illuminated both by direct sunlight and by earthshine, which reveals the faint outline of the Moon’s night side. To the right of the Moon is Mars, visible as a reddish point of light. Near the lower left portion of the image lies the Pleiades star cluster (M45), one of the closest and most recognizable open star clusters in the night sky.

This alignment offered a beautiful pre-dawn view, combining objects from three very different regions of space in a single field of view.

Object details:

* Moon: Waning crescent phase
* Mars: Planet visible in the morning sky
* Pleiades (M45): Open star cluster in Taurus
* Distance to Pleiades: ~444 light-years
* Location: United Arab Emirates

Canon 6d mark II
Lens Canon EF 85mm

Adobe Lightroom