Earth's Sunset is Spectacular but Not Rare from Space

Courtesy NASA and Earth ObservatoryThis amazing photo of the sunset over the Indian Ocean comes from NASA and the Earth Observatory. The picture was taken by the Expedition 23 crew onboard the International Space Station. None of us on Earth will ever be able to witness a sunset like this.

In the picture, you can see the curve of the Earth along with several layers of the atmosphere.

ISS astronauts see 16 sunrises and sunsets a day due to their fast orbits around the Earth. Each sunrise or sunset only lasts a few seconds.

Check out NASA’s Earth Observatory for more on this photo and other Earth facts.

1 reply
  1. Mike
    Mike says:

    That’s really interesting about astronauts seeing 16 sunrises/sets a day. How cool would that be to look out the window and see the sky all lit up in a full spectrum of color? It’s amazing they get anything done “up” there, between the floating pens, slow-motion cartwheels, and stellar view of the world.

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