NASA image shows how aliens would see a solar eclipse on Earth
Solar eclipse on earth. (Image: Nasas Goddard Space Flight Center / Lisa Poje & Greg Shirah / Ernie Wright / Alison Gold)
Nasa has released an impressive image from their Epic telescope showing the moon casting its shadow over the Arctic during a solar eclipse.
One or the other solar eclipse – at least a partial one – has certainly been observed by each of us at some point. The total solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, which is also visible in Central Europe, is likely to have remained in the memory of many. When viewed from the earth, the (new) moon pushes itself in front of the sun and partially or completely covers it. The phenomenon of a solar eclipse on earth looks different from space. Here you can see the shadow of the moon moving across the surface of the earth.
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Epic circles the earth in 1.5 million kilometers
NASA has now published such a recording of the solar eclipse on June 10, 2021. The photo was taken by the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (Epic) camera and telescope system on board the DSCOVR satellite. The satellite orbits the earth at a distance of around 1.5 million kilometers – in the direction of the sun. This corresponds to the so-called inner Lagrange point L1. Scientists actually examine the earth’s vegetation, cloud formations or ozone values on the basis of the images recorded by Epic.
Every now and then, according to NASA in their message, but there is the possibility to take a solar eclipse with you. “Images of the sunlit half of the earth from a distance that is four times larger than the orbit of the moon always offer surprises. Occasionally the moon comes into our field of vision or the moon casts its shadow on the earth, ”explains Adam Szabo, DSCOVR manager at NASA.
The image shows the shadow of the moon over the Arctic. During the solar eclipse on June 10th there was only a coverage of a few percent in our latitudes. The next solar eclipse, which will cover around 30 percent in Germany, will take place on October 25, 2022. The next total solar eclipse, in which the umbra of the moon will move over Central Europe, is supposed to not until September 3, 2081 to be observed.
You can find more interesting pictures of the Epic telescope – including moon “photobombings” here.
