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Credit & Copyright: Luis Argerich
Explanation:
Although you've surely seen it, you might not have noticed it.
During a cloudless twilight,
just before
sunrise or after
sunset,
part of the atmosphere above the horizon appears
slightly off-color, slightly pink or orange.
Called the Belt of Venus, this off-color band between the dark
eclipsed sky and the
blue sky can be seen in nearly every direction
including that opposite the Sun.
Straight above, blue sky is normal sunlight reflecting off the atmosphere.
In the Belt of Venus, however, the
atmosphere reflects light from the setting (or rising)
Sun which appears more red.
Below the Belt
of Venus,
the atmosphere appears more dark because no sunlight reaches it.
The Belt
of Venus can be seen from any location with a
clear horizon.
Pictured above
last month over Mercedes,
Argentina, a panoramic vista featuring the Belt of Venus was digitally stitched
together from 16 smaller images.
The belt is
frequently
caught
by
accident
in
other
photographs.
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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: belt of Venus - sunset - twilight
Publications with words: belt of Venus - sunset - twilight
See also: