The Moon appears partially lit in the upper middle portion of the image.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) regularly captures stunning images of our universe, leaving space lovers mesmerized. The social media handles of the US Space Agency are a treasure trove for those who love to watch educational videos and fascinating images showcasing Earth and space. Now, in its recent post, the space agency shared a picture of the Moon and Earth in a single frame from the International Space Station.
In the picture, the Moon is seen in a crescent phase and the Earth appears blue with faint white clouds in the atmosphere. “Our Moon is in its waning crescent phase, where most of the sunlight is illuminating its far side – the side we can’t directly see from Earth. The waning crescent is the last phase before the lunar cycle repeats with a “new moon” phase, where it is completely obscured from Earth’s perspective,” NASA wrote while sharing the image.
They added, “Seen from the @ISS, the Moon appears partially lit in the upper middle portion of the image. The Earth appears blue with faint white clouds in the atmosphere, stretching from the bottom left to the top right of the image. Black space surrounds the Moon.”
Since being shared, the post has amassed over 6.9 lakh views and several reactions from internet users.
“10/10 for the caption and the image,” said a user.
“Interesting ISS Images…!” remarked a person.
A third said, “Omg, magnificent! In addition, I love the philosophical captions of posts from NASA!”
A few weeks ago, NASA shared a picture taken from the International Space Station showing the Earth’s airglow outlining the planet’s horizon with the Moon above. The image was captured on November 14, 2023, from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles (418 km) above the midwestern United States.
Describing the image, NASA wrote, “A view of Earth from the space station during orbital night. The Moon is above the earth nearly centered above the surface. An airglow outlines the atmosphere above the Earth’s surface in a yellow shade. Lights from cities dot Earth’s surface – among them, a concentration of lights near the horizon identifies the city of Chicago, while the concentration of lights closer to the bottom left identifies Denver.”
As per NASA, Airglow is when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light in order to shed their excess energy. NASA further explained that though they appear similar, aurora and airglow are formed by different processes. Auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind and airglow is sparked by day-to-day solar radiation.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
