thank you professor!

now that you mention it, I can see that the "blotch of light" from behind earth's lower right quadrant, that I had mistaken for a distortion, does indeed draw a perfect arc that is indeed apparently smaller than the earth, in the proportion I would have expected. the refraction around the earth's atmosphere had indeed confused me, to the point of misidentifying the arc of the sun as that.

now, with the concern that it might be a fake entirely relieved (thanks @hydropsyche@ecoevo.social too for the reassurance) I can go back to the awe and the appreciation of the beauty of the moment captured in the picture. wow!

CC: @coreyspowell@mastodon.social