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. 2013 October 24



Little Planet Shadowrise

Image Credit & Copyright: Acquisition - Enzo De Bernardini, Processing - w/Sophie le Comte

Explanation: Warm shades and subtle colors come to the sky in the fading sunlight after shadowrise on this little planet. Of course the little planet is planet Earth, and this nadir-to-zenith, around-the-horizon mosaic maps the view from a small airfield near the town of Intendente Alvear, La Pampa province, Argentina. Just above the western horizon (top) the sky shines with the warm colors of sunset. The slate blue shadow of Earth itself extending through the atmosphere can be seen rising as it hugs the eastern horizon (bottom). Wrapped closely above the narrow projection of Earth's shadow is the gentle glow of reddened, backscattered sunlight called the antitwilight arch or the Belt of Venus.