You ’ve probably seen by now all of the spectacular images of Monday ’s ( April 8)eclipsetaken from the ground . But what about those have from distance and sky ? We ’ve get you covered .
Total solar eclipses happen when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth , temporarily blocking the Sun ’s Inner Light and plunging those in the Moon ’s phantom – or the path of totality – into darkness . On Monday , this 185 - km ( 115 - mile ) broad path spanned North America – from Mexico to the very eastern bakshish of Canada , meaning millions of people across the continent overhear sight of the Sun being in short obscured .
The view from place , however , was quite different , and , thankfully , some satellites were capable to catch it .
The Moon’s shadow on April 8.Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory
One such satellite is the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite ( GOES-16 ) , which captured the Moon ’s shadower locomote across North America between 4 pm and 11 pm CEST ( 2 pm and 9 pm UTC ) .
fix some 36,000 kilometers ( 22,000 miles ) away , the GOES satellites are a collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) and NASA .
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The right third of the image shows the eastern United States at about 5:10 pm UTC, before the eclipse had begun; the middle was captured at around 6.50 pm UTC, when the eclipse was in progress; and the left third was taken at approximately 8:30 pm UTC, after the Moon’s shadow had passed.Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory
SpaceX ’s Starlink satellite also recorded some footage of the phantasma as it raced eastward over North America .
As didNASA ’s EPIC ( Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera ) imager on the DSCOVR ( Deep Space Climate Observatory ) satellite , which snap the view of Earth watch below between 4 pm and 8:30 pm UTC .
As the Moon ’s shadow sweep from the Pacific coast of Mexico to the Atlantic slide of Newfoundland , Canada via Texas and The Great Lakes , the NOAA-20 satellite , which orbits Earth from pole to pole , fascinate images of the planet from east to west . The mosaic below is comprised of three epitome taken before , during , and after the eclipse .
It was n’t just space satellites that peep the spectacle from an substitute angle . NASA astronaut Jessica Meirsharedfootage of the path of totality over north Texas , take in a T38 jet at 11,900 meters ( 39,000 animal foot ) .
If you were wondering what it ’s like to see an occultation from the sky , Meir said of the experience : “ We saw the dark come near us from behind . Soon it caught up with us and we had several minutes in total as we chased along its way . Then we were back in the brightness level once again . Not a forged day in the office .. ”
