Northern Nevada from 20 miles up
Image taken using a camera carried by a high-altitude scientific balloon flown over Northern Nevada by students and faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno. At the time of this photo, the balloon was located above the southern edge of the Black Rock playa, east of Gerlach, (pretty much above the Burning Man site), with the camera looking back towards Pyramid Lake (largest lake in center). Also visible are Honey Lake (right), Reno, Lake Tahoe, the Sierras and even coastal California. You can see quite far on a clear day from 20 miles up!
Notice that the sky is black at this altitude, and that you can make out the thin layer of atmosphere coating the limb of the Earth. There is no atmosphere above this, so the sunlight isn't being scattered to create the blue sky.
Northern Nevada from 20 miles up
Image taken using a camera carried by a high-altitude scientific balloon flown over Northern Nevada by students and faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno. At the time of this photo, the balloon was located above the southern edge of the Black Rock playa, east of Gerlach, (pretty much above the Burning Man site), with the camera looking back towards Pyramid Lake (largest lake in center). Also visible are Honey Lake (right), Reno, Lake Tahoe, the Sierras and even coastal California. You can see quite far on a clear day from 20 miles up!
Notice that the sky is black at this altitude, and that you can make out the thin layer of atmosphere coating the limb of the Earth. There is no atmosphere above this, so the sunlight isn't being scattered to create the blue sky.