Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Earth at Equinox

NASA ^ | September 22, 2014 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Earth is at equinox. Over the next 24 hours, day and night have nearly equal duration all over planet Earth. Technically, equinox transpires at 2:29 am Universal Time tomorrow, but this occurs today in North and South America. This September equinox signal that winter is approaching in the northern hemisphere, and summer is approaching in the south. At equinox, the dividing line between the sunlit half of Earth and the nighttime half of Earth temporarily passes through Earth's north and south spin poles. This dividing line is shown in clear detail in the featured video, taken by the Russian meteorological satellite Elektro-L during last year's September equinox. The Elektro-L satellite is in geostationary orbit over one spot on Earth's equator and always points directly toward the Earth. The featured video shows a time lapse for an entire day surrounding the equinox, with a new image taken every 30 minutes. Cloud motions are visible as well as the reflection of the Sun are visible as the equinox day progressed. The next Earth equinox is scheduled for March.

[SunkenCiv]

[Video Credit: Roscosmos / NTSOMZ / zelenyikot.livejournal.com; Courtesy: Igor Tirsky, Vitaliy Egorov]

[SunkenCiv]

The Big One

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[Nifster]

So very different than all the other planets in our solar system

[PGalt]

Thanks for posting. 50/50, yin/yang. Equal parts darkness and light. A busted clock clock is right twice a day. The masters of our universe think think they are the master of the universe. No light shines on their darkness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NySvxXO2Anw

[caww]

Now that is very cool! Wow!

[mikrofon]

A Day in the Life of Planet Earth ...