NASA Just Snapped A Rare Solar Eclipse From Space — See The Photos
NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory captured a rare solar eclipse from Earth orbit on July 25, 2025. NASA SDO
The SDO sees several eclipses — or lunar transits — each year. This one was a deep partial eclipse, which lasted about 35 minutes. The SDO studies the sun's atmosphere in various wavelengths of light.
The spacecraft is in a geosynchronous orbit around Earth, matching Earth's rotation, and positioned 22,238 miles (35,789 kilometers) above a ground station in White Sands, New Mexico.
SDO has an almost constant but slightly different view of the sun than we do from Earth's surface, but there are times when its orbit passes behind the Earth, causing an eclipse from its point of view. On July 25, SDO passed passed behind both the moon and the Earth on the same day, accotSDO.
The next solar eclipse visible from Earth will be a partial solar eclipse on Sept. 21, when up to 80% of the sun will be blocked by the moon as seen from New Zealand, Tasmania in Australia, the Indian Ocean, and Antarctica. Observers will need to wear solar eclipse glasses at all times, and all cameras and telescopes will need solar filters.
The next total solar eclipse visible from Earth will occur on Aug. 12, 2026, for parts of Greenland, western Iceland, and northern Spain. The maximum totality will be 2 minutes and 18 seconds off Iceland.
NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory captured a rare solar eclipse from Earth orbit on July 25, 2025. NASA SDO
The European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission — the world's first precision formation flying mission — last month captured the first images of an artificial total solar eclipse from space. Proba-3 is a pair of satellites that fly in formation with millimeter precision, with one blocking the sun with an occulter disk and casting a shadow on a telescope on the satellite behind it. That allows it to image the sun's corona — the sun's outer, hotter but more tenuous atmosphere — which is only visible during a total solar eclipse. Although SDO can also see the corona, Proba-3 can see much farther into it, revealing what's going on close to the Sun's photosphere. That's important because it's there that the solar wind, solar flares and coronal mass ejections are produced. Proba-3 can produce a total solar eclipse lasting six hours once every 19.6-hour orbit.
The Sun's inner corona appears greenish in this image taken on 23 May 2025 by the ASPIICS ... More coronagraph aboard Proba-3, ESA's formation-flying mission capable of creating artificial total solar eclipses in orbit. This image, captured in the visible light spectrum, shows the solar corona similarly to how a human eye would see it during an eclipse through a green filter. The hair-like structures were revealed using a specialised image processing algorithm. ESA/Proba-3/ASPIICS/WOW algorithm
Exactly 56 years ago this week, the crew of NASA's Apollo 11 mission — the first to put astronauts on the moon — saw a total solar eclipse. On Jul. 19, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins photographed a total solar eclipse on their way to the moon. Aldrin had seen a total solar eclipse from space before, on Nov. 11, 1966, during the Gemini 12 mission with Jim Lovell. The crew of Apollo 12 — Pete Conrad, Alan Bean and Dick Gordon — also saw a total solar eclipse from space on Nov. 24, 1969.
AS11-42-6179 (19 July 1969) —- This photograph of the solar corona was taken from the Apollo 11 ... More spacecraft during trans-lunar coast and prior to lunar orbit insertion. NASA When Is The Next Total Solar Eclipse In North America?
The next total solar eclipse in the contiguous U.S. will occur on Aug. 22, 2044. The path of totality will begin in Greenland, travel through Canada's Northwest Territories (with maximum totality close to Great Bear Lake, at 2 minutes and 4 seconds) and finish with an eclipsed sunset from Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota. Another total solar eclipse will occur across the U.S. a lunar year later, on Aug 10, 2045. Forbes In Photos: First Ever 'Fake' Total Solar Eclipse Created In Space By Jamie Carter Forbes NASA Spacecraft 'Touches Sun' For Final Time In Defining Moment For Humankind By Jamie Carter Forbes NASA Urges Public To Leave The City As Milky Way Appears — 15 Places To Go By Jamie Carter
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Digital Trends
an hour ago
- Digital Trends
How the heck does an astronaut wash their hair in space? Here's how
The microgravity conditions of the International Space Station (ISS) mean that its human inhabitants are barred from eating crumbly foods as the particles could float away and clog up air vents and other machinery, and could even become a hygiene issue. Similarly, liquids also have to be carefully managed, as loose droplets could cause havoc if they find their way into electronic systems aboard the orbital outpost. So, how do astronauts tackle the seemingly tricky task of washing their hair during a six-month mission aboard the station? Recommended Videos Well, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers on Monday shared a video (below) of herself doing just that. Sunday was hair wash day! — Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers (@Astro_Ayers) August 4, 2025 'It's not unlike [how you do it] on Earth, but you don't have the advantage of gravity pulling the water or letting the water flow,' Ayers, who arrived at the station in March, explains as she gets started. To wet her hair — and in Ayers' case there's a lot of it — the astronaut uses a water-filled pouch with a one-way valve that lets her carefully control the release of water. To prevent droplets from becoming airborne, she presses the tube directly onto her scalp before releasing the water. She also releases water into the ends of her hair, which is the longest among all of the astronauts currently aboard the space station. While it's hardly soaking at the end of the process, it's wet enough that she can apply some shampoo — using a shampoo bar — to start washing it. 'For the rinses, I'll usually just do my scalp,' Ayers says. 'That way, you can work it through to the rest of my hair.' After giving it a quick dry, she adds some conditioner, gives it a quick brush, and then says that she'll let it dry naturally. 'The water will dry, get into the air, and then we'll reclaim it, and it'll probably become somebody's coffee tomorrow,' Ayers says in a nod to the station's recycling systems. For more on how astronauts live their daily lives on the ISS — including the delicate act of going to the bathroom — check out these short videos made by the crewmembers themselves over the years.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Transportation Secretary Duffy to announce nuclear reactor development plan for the moon
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will reportedly announce plans this week to build a nuclear reactor on the moon, according to media reports. NASA has had discussions about the building of a reactor on the lunar surface, but Duffy's directive gives a more definitive timeline and expedites the process. Duffy also serves as the interim administrator of the space agency. "Fission surface power (FSP) is both an essential and sustainable segment of the lunar and Mars power architectures for future human space exploration missions," the directive states. "To properly advance this critical technology to be able to support a future lunar economy, high power energy generation on Mars, and to strengthen our national security in space, it is imperative the agency move quickly." China and Russia have announced on several occasions a joint effort to place a reactor on the moon by the mid-2030s, NASA said. If successful, that would potentially result in the declaration of a "keep-out zone," which could inhibit the United States from establishing a presence there. The move means that NASA will continue to have input in nuclear development, despite the Pentagon's recent cancellation of a joint program on nuclear-powered rocket engines. Duffy also issued another directive to quickly replace the International Space Station, a priority for NASA. Trump announced Duffy to serve as interim administrator of NASA in July as withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman in May. Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut and longtime associate of Elon Musk, was nominated by Trump in December 2024 but faced mounting scrutiny over ties to Musk and SpaceX, which some officials viewed as a conflict of interest. NASA has increasingly factored into the Trump administration's national defense, innovation, and economic agenda.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy to announce plans for building nuclear reactor on the moon
It's a power move. The Trump administration aims to accelerate the construction of a nuclear reactor on the moon, Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy wrote in a memo distributed internally on Monday. The space agency has previously explored the possibility of installing an electricity-generating nuclear reactor on the lunar surface capable of powering a sustained human presence, but Duffy intends to fast-track the project and more than double the reactor's power output, according to documents obtained by The Post. 3 Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced plans to build a nuclear reactor on the moon. AP Photo/George Walker IV Advertisement 'To properly advance this critical technology to be able to support a future lunar economy, high power energy generation on Mars, and to strengthen our national security in space, it is imperative the agency move quickly,' Duffy wrote in the memo. 'It is about winning the second space race,' a NASA senior official told Politico, which first reported on Duffy's plans. Duffy's directive will instruct NASA to seek out proposals for a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor that would be ready for launch by 2030. Advertisement In 2022, NASA's 'Fission Surface Power Project' awarded design contracts for a 40-kilowatt nuclear reactor, which the agency said is capable of powering 33 households. If another country, such as China or Russia, were to build a reactor on the moon first, it could 'declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States,' Duffy's order noted. The directive calls for NASA to appoint a leader for the reactor project and to get private industry input within 60 days. 3 The planned reactor would be complete by 2030. IndustryAndTravel – Advertisement NASA will look for private spaceflight companies able to get the reactor to the moon by 2030, when China intends to launch a manned moon mission. President Trump named Duffy, 53, the acting head of NASA last month after he withdrew the nomination of billionaire Jared Isaacman, an ally of ex-DOGE chief Elon Musk. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! The surprise move came in response to a 'review' of Isaacman's history, Trump said at the time. Advertisement Isaacman has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and causes as recently as October 2024, when he gave more than $41,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Federal Election Commission records show. 3 A NASA senior official reportedly said the plan is about 'winning the second space race.' Alberto Ghizzi Panizza/ Duffy outlined NASA's ambitious objectives — to circle the moon, land and eventually build a base on the surface — last month in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. 'We're going to go back to the moon during Donald Trump's presidency,' he told Hannity. 'Next year … start of the year, we are going to go back to the moon. We're not going to land. We're going to go around the moon. And then about a year later, we're going to land back on the moon,' Duffy explained. 'And then after that, we're going to set up a base camp. 'We're going to stay on the moon, and what we learn on the moon is what's going to take us to Mars.' A spokesperson for NASA did not respond to The Post's request for comment.
