A Crescent Earth at Midnight
Explanation:
The Earth's northern hemisphere is outlined as a sunlit
crescent in this dramatic
view from orbit, recorded near
local midnight by the
Geostationary
Operational
Environmental
Satellite
(
GOES-8) on June 22, 1996.
That date was two days after
the
Solstice, by astronomical
reckoning, the
first day of summer in the north
and winter in the
southern hemisphere.
Today's
scheduled
geocentric astronomical event is again the
northern hemisphere's summer Solstice, with the Sun reaching
its northernmost
declination
at 19 hours 10 minutes
Universal Time.
That makes today also the longest day
of
the year in the north, with
the
arctic
regions near the top of the picture
experiencing 24 hours of daylight.
Looking south along the Earth's limb,
atmospheric
scattering of
sunlight causes the limb 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.
