                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 December 27

                          Planet Earth at Twilight
    Image Credit: ISS Expedition 2 Crew, Gateway to Astronaut Photography
                               of Earth, NASA

   Explanation: No sudden, sharp boundary marks the passage of day into
   night in this gorgeous view of ocean and clouds over our fair planet
   Earth. Instead, the shadow line or terminator is diffuse and shows the
   gradual transition to darkness we experience as twilight. With the Sun
   illuminating the scene from the right, the cloud tops reflect gently
   reddened sunlight filtered through the dusty troposphere, the lowest
   layer of the planet's nurturing atmosphere. A clear high altitude
   layer, visible along the dayside's upper edge, scatters blue sunlight
   and fades into the blackness of space. This picture was taken from the
   International Space Station orbiting at an altitude of 211 nautical
   miles. Of course from home, you can check out the Earth Now.

                  Tomorrow's picture: planet Earth at night
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

