A “ring of fire” solar eclipse crossed over Africa and Asia this weekend, and the stare from space was spectacular.
A NASA astronaut living and working in space and a host of weather satellites all noticed the dramatic occasion as the moon’s shadow passed over Earth’s floor. Even supposing the solar eclipse wasn’t visible from North The USA, it did happen to coincide with the U.S. birthday celebration of Father’s Day on June 21.
“Colossal frigid stare of the Annular Solar Eclipse which passed by our starboard aspect as we flew over China this morning,” NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy wrote on Twitter. “A aesthetic super system to wake up on Father’s Day morning! Hoping all the dads on the earth agree with a comely day!”
Related: ‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse of 2020 wows skywatchers throughout Africa, Asia
A “ring of fire” or annular eclipse happens when the moon passes between the solar and Earth. However, not like all the intention in which by intention of a entire solar eclipse, the moon just isn’t end enough to Earth to dam out all the solar’s visible disk.
As but any other, a skinny ring of the solar’s disk stays visible throughout the moon’s shadow even at the midpoint of the eclipse, therefore the phenomenon’s nickname.
Colossal frigid stare of the Annular Solar Eclipse which passed by our starboard aspect as we flew over China this morning. A aesthetic super system to wake up on Father’s Day morning! Hoping all the dads on the earth agree with a comely day! #Eclipse #FathersDay #HappyFathersDay2020 pic.twitter.com/vJx5yOFAcbJune 21, 2020
However from space, an annular eclipse looks very akin to a entire solar eclipse, and astronauts and satellites can quandary the phenomenon by attempting to search out a spherical shadow dancing throughout Earth’s floor.
That is exactly what Cassidy saw from his vantage level as one of 5 astronauts living and working on the Worldwide House Pickle, the save he arrived in April. At the time, the distance location was passing about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth’s floor.
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Other space views of the eclipse display camouflage a much greater-altitude recap of what happened. Russia’s Elektro-L No.2 weather satellite noticed an interplay of shadows all the intention in which by intention of the occasion, for instance.
The satellite, which launched in 2015 and is one of three identical monitoring stations, was orbiting at an altitude of 22,000 miles (36,000 km), in accordance to a commentary from the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
#SATELLITE SPOTLIGHT: The important thing day of #AstronomicalSummer started with an #AnnularEclipse! On this #Himawari8?? loop, which that you can perchance per chance search the shadow of the #Moon bound over eastern #Asia. This roughly #eclipse looks as a #RingofFire in the sky, which was viewed from #Africa to #Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/cIhyk4cqzbJune 21, 2020
Other weather satellites purchased in on the eclipse-observing action as effectively. Japan’s Himawari-8 satellite and Europe’s Meteosat-8 each followed the moon’s shadow throughout Asia and Africa.
Right here is some #MondayMotivation for you this morning—but any other stare of the day prior to this’s annular #SolarEclipse courtesy of #Meteosat8, operated by our companions @EUMETSAT. This form of #eclipse happens when the moon passes in entrance of the solar, nonetheless doesn’t thoroughly duvet it. pic.twitter.com/y0ArDEjc1mJune 22, 2020
- Fantastic solar eclipse photos from throughout the enviornment
- ‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse 2020: Right here is how it the truth is works (and what to inquire of)
- NASA’s very finest Earth-from-space photos by astronauts (gallery)
Electronic mail Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or word her @meghanbartels. Discover us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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