Admire the breathtaking solar eclipse images taken from beyond Earth

There are many solar eclipse images taken from the ground, but the truly unique is the photo taken by NASA astronauts from the International Space Station.

At the time of a total solar eclipse, the Moon will obscure the Sun, leaving only a glowing corona. However, that is the perspective from Earth, but for astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), what they see is an extremely spectacular sight: The giant shadow of the Sun. moon on the Earth's surface, moving gradually across North America.

The giant shadow the Moon casts on Earth during a total solar eclipse. (Photo: NASA).

When the eclipse took place, astronauts on the International Space Station ISS at an altitude of 418 km above the ground were present just in time to record the above image. In addition, the US GOES weather and environmental satellite also recorded the moment the Moon's umbra appeared on Earth.

The darkness created by the Moon is recorded by satellites. (Photo: NOAA).

The eclipse image from the ISS is no coincidence . NASA has been adjusting its altitude in orbit for months, calculating so that the space station will observe this eclipse and the next one in North America in two decades. The result is a historic image of how the moon's shadow traveled from New York state to Newfoundland from an altitude of 418 kilometers above southeastern Canada. The image was taken through the ISS dome by two NASA aeronautical engineers, Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps.

Although the ISS passed over North America during the total solar eclipse, it was only seen as a white light moving very quickly across the sky, due to reflections from the installed solar panels. on the station.

In addition to helping eclipse-watchers find a cloud-free spot in its path, the GOES-East (CONUS) satellite also captured interesting images of the Moon's shadow. The satellite is located more than 35,000km above Earth's equator and moves at the same speed as the planet's rotation, allowing it to "dock" in the same location on the Earth's surface. Therefore, it is called a geostationary satellite.

Satellites also observed a decrease in Earth's surface temperature in the Moon's umbra on Earth during a solar eclipse due to reduced sunlight reaching the ground.

The recent total solar eclipse was the longest in North America in more than 200 years with a duration of up to 4 minutes and 26 seconds, only beaten by the number of 4 minutes and 48 seconds in 1806.

The next total solar eclipse in North America is on March 30, 2033 in Alaska. The next total solar eclipse in the continental United States (not including Alaska) takes place on August 23, 2044, in Montana and South Dakota. Just one lunar year later, on August 12, 2045, a total solar eclipse will pass through 12 US states, from California to Florida.