NASA Satellite Catches Solar Eclipse Visible Only From Space
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A solar eclipse visible only from space was captured on video thanks to a NASA satellite.
On April 27, the moon blocked 23 percent of the sun in a partial eclipse, but it was not possible to see this from Earth.
However, a NASA satellite recorded the eclipse from start to finish.
Images from the satellite sent back to Earth first show the sun in its entirety, before a large dark orb—the moon—passes by, blocking almost a quarter of the star from view.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) launched in February 2010; the semi-autonomous spacecraft points at the sun, allowing almost continuous observation.
It is in a geosynchronous orbit, meaning its orbital period perfectly matches the Earth's rotation and to an earthbound stargazer appears to always remain in the same position in the sky.
According to spaceweather.com, the SDO observes multiple lunar transits, or eclipses, each year—many which are not visible from Earth.
An eclipse visible only from space was recorded by a NASA satellite.
An eclipse visible only from space was recorded by a NASA satellite.
NASA/ SDO
An upcoming eclipse visible from space is due on May 25, but will cover only four percent of the sun. But another, due on July 25th, is expected to be far deeper—with more than two-thirds of the sun eclipsed by the moon at 62 percent.
Stargazers across North and South America were treated to a total lunar eclipse—with the Earth moving directly between the sun and the moon—in March this year, which caused the moon to turn a deep red color.
The phenomenon is known as a Blood Moon, as the same atmospheric effect that causes sunsets to appear red affects the moon.
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What Is a Solar Eclipse?
What Is a Solar Eclipse?
NASA said at the time: "A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes into Earth's shadow. In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth's shadow, called the umbra.
"It's as if all the world's sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon."
The next solar eclipse visible from Earth will be on September 21 of this year, when the moon partially eclipses the sun. It will be visible from Australia, Antarctica, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, according to NASA.
A total solar eclipse will take place on August 12, 2026, but will be fully visible only in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and part of Portugal.
On the same date, a partial eclipse will be visible across North America, Europe and Africa as well as the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
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