Gallery: Gaia's Crown: a hidden halo at the edge of Earth

As the Moon slipped behind Earth, DSCOVR's EPIC camera, parked 1.5 million km away at the Sun-Earth L1 point, caught something you can't see from home: a razor thin "crown" of light where our planet and its companion seem to meet. This glow isn't a camera glitch; it's a deep-space mirage. The unique angles at which EPIC images the Earth, plus layers of warm-and-cool air high in the atmosphere bend sunlight much like a fun-house mirror, lifting and stretching the Moon's edge into a delicate flange that has been nicknamed "Gaia's Crown."

Because the effect is very faint, an extra-strong gamma correction has been applied to these images to brighten it so it can be seen. Look closely along the horizon, where the ocean fades into space, and you'll see the Moon perched on a faint pedestal of light. These images were taken with EPIC's 780nm wavelength, near-infrared filter, which provides the best view of the event.

EPIC sees this illusion only a few times a year, and only from its distant vantage. Satellites in low-Earth or even geostationary orbit view the scene from steeper angles and miss the refracted rays that create the crown. For them, the atmosphere compresses the Moon, creating a "squashed" effect. Enjoy this rare glimpse of our atmosphere acting as a giant lens, reminding us that even familiar sights can still surprise from a new perspective.