13999549 - This is the waxing gibbous Moon (11.7 days old) near reddish Mars (above the Moon),and with reddish Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster below. All are set in a swirl of clouds,looking like they are in an interstellar nebula. Diffraction from ice crystals in the clouds adds the colourful corona around the Moon. This was the Moon-Mars conjunction of January 3,2023. Mars was then about a month past opposition.13999239 - This wide-field image frames the end stars of the Big Dipper's handle — Mizar at top,and Alkaid at bottom — and to also include in the frame the bright galaxies Messier 101 (at left) and Messier 51 (at lower right,aka the Whirlpool Galaxy). They are small on this image scale but the image serves for a finder chart illustration of the location of these galaxies relative to the Handle. The famous double star Mizar and Alcor is also obvious at top,as is the red giant star 83 Ursa Majoris. The field is 10° x 15°,so wider than binoculars.
