Stunning New Look at Total Solar Eclipse From 1 Million Miles Away
Another look at solar eclipse -- from one million miles away.
— -- Here's a view you don't see very often:
NASA and NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) captured stunning images of last week's solar eclipse as it swept across the Pacific Ocean.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon, Earth and sun perfectly align, with moon blocking the light of the sun and casting a dark shadow on Earth. From its vantage point 1 million miles from Earth, DSCOVR's cameras captured the eclipse as it moved from southeast Asia and across the Pacific Ocean.
The eclipse occurred on Wednesday local time in Sumatra, Indonesia, and crossed the international date line into the Pacific Ocean, ending in Hawaii on Tuesday afternoon local time. The best views were in southeast Asia, while people in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa were able to see a partial solar eclipse.
"What is unique for us is that being near the Sun-Earth line, we follow the complete passage of the lunar shadow from one edge of the Earth to the other," Adam Szabo, NASA’s project scientist for DSCOVR, said in a statement. "A geosynchronous satellite would have to be lucky to have the middle of an eclipse at noon local time for it. I am not aware of anybody ever capturing the full eclipse in one set of images or video."
For those who missed it, mark your calendars. The next solar eclipse will be visible in the continental United States on Aug. 21, 2017.
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