A Crescent Earth At Midnight
Explanation:
The Earth's northern hemisphere appears outlined as a sunlit
crescent in this dramatic
view from the GOES 8 satellite.
The image was made near midnight for the
Geostationary
Operational
Environmental
Satellite
on June 22 this year, two days after
the Summer Solstice.
The Summer Solstice is
the time of year
when the sun reaches its greatest
northern declination and
the arctic regions near the top of the picture experience 24 hours
of daylight.
Looking south along the Earth's limb,
atmospheric scattering of sunlight
causes the bright crescent to be visible beyond
areas directly illuminated by the sun.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
