Total Solar Eclipse Below the Bottom of the World
Explanation:
Yesterday there was a total solar eclipse visible only at the end of the Earth.
To capture the
unusual phenomenon,
airplanes took flight below the clouded seascape of
Southern Ocean.
The featured image
shows one relatively spectacular capture where the
bright spot is the outer
corona of the Sun and the
eclipsing Moon
is seen as the dark spot in the center.
A wing and engine of the
airplane are visible across
the left and bottom of the image, while
another airplane observing the eclipse
is visible on the far left.
The dark area of the sky surrounding the
eclipsed Sun is called a
shadow cone.
It is dark because you are looking down a
long corridor of air shadowed by the Moon.
A careful inspection of the eclipsed Sun will reveal the
planet Mercury just to the right.
The next total solar eclipse
shadow
will cross parts of
Australia and
Indonesia in April of 2023,
while
the one after that will cross
North America in
April of 2024.
Notable Eclipse Submissions to APOD:
Total Solar Eclipse of 2021 December
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.
