A Solar Eclipse from the Moon
Explanation:
Has a solar eclipse ever been seen from the Moon?
Yes, first in 1967 -- but it may happen again next week.
The robotic
Surveyor 3 mission took thousands of wide angle
television images of the Earth in 1967,
a few of which captured the Earth moving in front of the Sun.
Several of these images have been retrieved from the
NASA archives
and compiled into the above time-lapse video.
Although the images are grainy, the
Earth's atmosphere clearly
refracted
sunlight around it and showed a
beading effect when some paths were blocked by clouds.
Two years later, in 1969, the
Apollo
12 crew saw
firsthand
a different eclipse of the Sun by the Earth on the way back from the Moon.
In 2009, Japan's robotic
Kaguya spacecraft took higher resolution
images of a
similar eclipse while orbiting
the Moon.
Next week, however, China's
Chang'e 3 mission, including
its
Yutu
rover, might
witness a new total eclipse of the Sun by the Earth from surface of the Moon.
Simultaneously, from lunar orbit, NASA's
LADEE mission
might
also capture the unusual
April 15 event.
Another angle of
this same event
will surely be visible to
people on Earth -- a
total lunar eclipse.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
