Crescent moon and Earth's atmosphere | Space

How gorgeous is this?

On February 1, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata tweeted this view of a crescent moon rising and the cusp of Earth’s atmosphere.

View larger image | Image credit: NASA

You see the distinct colors layers in our planet’s atmosphere because the dominant gases and particles in each layer act as prisms, filtering out certain colors of light.

Via NASA

Eleanor Imster

Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. Today, as Lead Editor at EarthSky.org, she helps present the science and nature stories and photos you enjoy. She also serves as one of the voices of EarthSky on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and G+. She and her husband live in Tennessee and have two grown sons.