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Credit & Copyright: Vincent Jacques
Explanation:
No natural clouds appear in this picture.
On the left, an airplane cruises through the atmosphere leaving a
contrail in its wake.
The contrail would normally appear white,
but the large volume of air toward the setting Sun preferentially
knocks away blue light, giving the reflected trail a bright orange hue.
Far in the distance, to the right of the plane, is the
young Moon.
This vast world shows only a sliver of itself because the Sun is nearly lined up
behind it.
The above image is framed by an eerie gray sky,
too close to day to be blue, too close to night to be black.
Within minutes the
impromptu sky show ended.
The plane crossed the Moon. The contrail dispersed. The Sun set. The Moon set.
The sky faded to black, only to
reveal thousands of stars that had been hiding below
the gray din.
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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: Moon
Publications with words: Moon
See also: