Moonset, Planet Earth
Explanation:
During the
Astro-1 astronomy mission
of December, 1990,
Space
Shuttle astronauts photographed this
stunning view of the
setting full moon
poised above the Earth's limb.
In the foreground, towering clouds of condensing
water vapor
mark the extent of the troposphere,
the lowest layer of the planet's life-sustaining
atmosphere.
Strongly scattering blue sunlight, the upper atmospheric layer,
the stratosphere, fades dramatically to the black background of space.
Moon and
clouds are
strong visual elements of many well known portraits of
planet Earth,
including Ansel Adams' famous
"Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico",
photographed in 1941.
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.
