No sudden,
sharp boundary marks the passage of day into night in this gorgeous view of ocean and clouds over our fair planet Earth. Instead, the shadow line or terminator is diffuse
and shows the gradual transition to darkness we experience as twilight. With
the Sun illuminating the scene from the right, the cloud tops reflect gently
reddened sunlight filtered through the dusty troposphere, the lowest layer
of the planet’s nurturing atmosphere. A clear high altitude layer, visible
along the dayside’s upper edge, scatters blue sunlight and fades into the blackness of space.
This picture was taken from the International Space Station orbiting at an
altitude of 211 nautical miles. Of course from home, you can check out the
Earth Now.
Image & info via ~APOD
Image Credit: ISS Expedition 2 Crew, Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth, NASA
Source: Planet
Earth at Twilight – Scents of Science
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