June 21, 2003
You were not dropped into the cosmos as a stranger. You came from it entirely: borrowed from stars, carried by Earth, warmed by the Sun, and...
A Crescent Earth at Midnight
Birthday · June 21, 2003
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published June 21, 2003. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The Earth's northern hemisphere is outlined as a sunlit crescent in this dramatic view from orbit, recorded near local midnight by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-8) on June 22, 1996. That date was two days after the Solstice, by astronomical reckoning, the first day of summer in the north and winter in the southern hemisphere. Today's scheduled geocentric astronomical event is again the northern hemisphere's summer Solstice, with the Sun reaching its northernmost declination at 19 hours 10 minutes Universal Time. That makes today also the longest day of the year in the north, with the arctic regions near the top of the picture experiencing 24 hours of daylight. Looking south along the Earth's limb, atmospheric scattering of sunlight causes the limb to be visible beyond areas directly illuminated by the sun.