Gaia's Crown: A Deep Space Mirage

The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), onboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft, has captured a unique optical effect during lunar occultation named "Gaia's Crown". This phenomenon, observable in the infrared and visible channels, but not in the ultraviolet, is seen as a flange between the Earth and the Moon when the two visually intersect. Using atmospheric data and 3D, voxel-based ray tracing models, this effect was identified as a combination of atmospheric distortion and a complex mirage caused by variations in the Earth's atmosphere. Additionally, it is shown that satellites closer to the Earth cannot see this phenomenon and demonstrates how EPIC’s vantage point at 1.5 million kilometers provides a unique perspective on atmospheric optics.