Explanation:
On another April 12th,
in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alexseyevich Gagarin
became the first human
to see planet Earth from space.
Commenting on his
view from orbit
he reported, "The sky is very dark; the Earth is bluish.
Everything is seen very clearly".
To celebrate, consider this recent image from the orbiting
International Space Station.
A stunning view of the planet at night
from an altitude of 240 miles, it was recorded on March 28.
The lights of Moscow, Russia are near picture center
and one of the station's solar panel arrays is on the left.
Aurora and the glare of sunlight lie
along the planet's gently curving horizon.
Stars above the horizon include the compact
Pleiades star cluster,
immersed in the auroral glow.
