Astronomy Picture of the Day · September 21, 1996

The Ecliptic Plane

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 21, 1996 is “The Ecliptic Plane,” an image. It is credited to Credit: The Clementine Project. The original explanation runs about 130 words.

From the explanation

“The Plane of the Ecliptic is illustrated in this Clementine star tracker camera image which reveals (from right to left) the Moon lit by Earthshine, the Sun’s corona rising over the Moon’s dark limb, and the planets Saturn , Mars , and Mercury .”

— APOD editors, September 21, 1996

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: September 21, 1996
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: The Clementine Project
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 130 words

All of September 1996 → · 1996 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Moon The Sun Mars Saturn

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: September 21 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, September 21, 1996 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-1996-september-21-the-ecliptic-plane

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.