Earth observations taken during STS-77

STS077-704-045 (19-29 May 1996) --- As the Space Shuttle Endeavour goes into darkness, the sun setting behind gave the astronaut crew aboard Endeavour a great chance to look at the atmospheric limb. The colors of the atmospheric limb are created by the sunlight being reflected off the gases of the upper atmosphere. As the photograph shows, the Earth?s weather and clouds take up only a small part of the whole atmosphere.