Moons and Bright Mars
In this serene view , the moons of Earth along with the bright planet Mars shine above the city of Turku near the southwestern tip of Finland. Of course Earth's large natural satellite, the Moon , at a distance of 400,000 kilometers, is by far the brightest object in this sky. But growing brighter and closer by the hour , Mars appears as the impressively bright “star” at the right, about 64 million kilometers from Turku . Streaking across the twilight sky between the two celestial beacons, Earth's largest artificial moon, the International Space Station , orbits about 400 kilometers above the planet's surface. To capture the moment, amateur astronomer Petteri Kankaro used a digital camera and combined exposures beginning at 23:34 Universal Time on July 17th .