page_title: Extraterrestrial sky
section_title: The Moon
hierarchical_section_title: Extraterrestrial sky / The Moon
caption_attribution_description: English: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/space-images/earth/earth-over-the-lunar-limb.html NOTE (by UpLoader Drbogdan (talk) 15:27, 29 February 2016 (UTC)): Original PNG Image Converted To JPG Image via IrfanView v4.36. IMAGE DESCRIPTION: The Earth straddling the limb of the Moon, as seen from above Compton crater. The large tan area in the upper right is the Sahara desert, and just beyond is Saudia Arabia. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America are visible to the left. WAC E1199291151C (Earth only), NAC M1199291564LR (Earth and Moon); sequence start time 12 October 2015 12:18:17.384 UTC Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter used both narrow- and wide-angle cameras to capture this view of a colorful Earth beyond the lunar limb on October 12, 2015. The Moon's surface is a grayscale narrow-angle camera photo; Earth has been colorized with wide-angle camera data. Read more about how this photo was created at the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera website. Download a full-resolution PNG version here (53 MB). https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/images/4-mars/2015/Earth_and_Limb_M1199291564L_color_2stretch_20151211_141513.png
context_page_description: In astronomy, an extraterrestrial sky is a view of outer space from the surface of a planet other than Earth.
  The only extraterrestrial sky that has been directly observed and photographed by astronauts is that of the Moon. The skies of Venus, Mars and Titan have been observed by space probes designed to land on the surface and send images back to Earth.
  Extraterrestrial skies seem to vary because of a number of reasons. An extraterrestrial atmosphere, if present, has a large bearing on visible characteristics. The atmosphere's density and chemical composition can contribute to differences in color, opacity and the presence of clouds. Astronomical objects may also be visible and can include natural satellites, rings, star systems and nebulas and other planetary system bodies.
  For skies that have not been directly or indirectly observed, their appearance can be simulated based on known factors, such as the position of astronomical objects relative to the surface and atmospheric composition.
context_section_description: The Moon's atmosphere is very thin so its sky is always black, as in the case of Mercury. However, the Sun is so bright that it is impossible to see stars during the daytime, unless the observer is well shielded from sunlight.
caption: Earth viewed from the Moon (composite image; October 2015)
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