Achi news desk-
Eerie new satellite images show the moon’s massive shadow racing across North America during the April 8 total solar eclipse. Photos taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) also highlight the staggering scale of this rare cosmic event.
On Monday (April 8), millions of people along or near the path of totality watching the moon temporarily block our home star as its shadow sweeps across North America from Mexico to Canada. During this event, totality – the period when the sun is completely hidden – lasting up to 4 minutes and 28 secondsdepending on the location of the viewer.
Despite some bad weather and an an uncharacteristically inactive sun, observers were able to capture stunning images of the eclipse from the ground. Some people were even lucky enough to glimpse rare phenomena including slithers of sunlight known as “Baily beads” and plasma explosions from the sun, known as solar flares. But from space, it could be argued that the event was even more impressive.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16 (GOES-16) took thousands of pictures of the eclipse from its fixed position above North America. When these images were stitched together, they showed the moon’s shadow sweeping across the continent, Spaceweather.com reported.
The resulting footage looks like something straight out of a science fiction film.
“The Moon’s shadow raced across North America faster than 1,500 mph [2,400 km/h]creating a mind-altering cone of darkness,” wrote Spaceweather.com.
Astronauts on board the ISS also watched the eclipse from their unique perspective, and a member of the Expedition 71 crew captured an impressive shot of the moon’s shadow from about 260 miles (418 kilometers) above Earth, NASA reported. At this point, the dark void went from New York state to Newfoundland, Canada.
The ISS photo was no accident. NASA had been moving the space station gradually over months so that it would pass through the eclipse, while also ensuring that the orbiting station avoids space junk. In the end, the ISS tested a total of about 90%, according to NASA.
However, astronauts were unable to photograph the actual eclipse because the sun-facing windows, located in the station’s Roscosmos section, were inaccessible due to “cargo restrictions,” NASA representatives wrote .
The shadow of the moon is often referred to as the umbra, which is the Latin for shadow. However, the umbra is only the darkest part in the middle of the moon’s shadow. The shadow of our natural satellite also includes two other parts: the penumbra, where only part of the sun is covered; and the antumbra, where a weaker shadow is cast across a wider radius.
Observers located in the path of totality were temporarily covered by a true umbrella, but anyone experiencing dark skies outside this path experienced penumbra or antumbra. This is why the moon’s shadow appears much wider than the path of totality in the new images.
If you missed the eclipse, don’t worry, it’s still on it is possible to re-watch NASA’s live stream of the event.
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