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Credit: Expedition 23 Crew,
NASA
Explanation:
What are these strange color bands being seen from the International Space Station?
The Sun setting through Earth's atmosphere.
Pictured
above, a sunset captured last month by the ISS's
Expedition 23
crew
shows in vivid detail many layers of the
Earth's thin atmosphere.
Part of the
Earth experiencing night
crosses the bottom of the image.
Above that,
appearing in deep orange and yellow, is the Earth's
troposphere,
which contains 80 percent of the atmosphere by mass and
almost all of the
clouds in the sky.
Visible as a white band above the troposphere is the
stratosphere, part of the
Earth's atmosphere where airplanes fly and some hardy bacteria float.
Above the stratosphere, visible as a light blue band, are higher and thinner
atmospheric levels
that gradually fade away into the cold dark
vacuum of
outer space.
Sunset is not an uncommon
sight
for occupants of the
International Space Station,
because it can be seen as many as 16 times a day.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: international space station - sunset - atmosphere
Publications with words: international space station - sunset - atmosphere
See also: