NASA astronaut captures striking 'ring of fire' solar eclipse shadow from ISS
Oh, I'm being followed by a moon shadow, moon shadow, moon shadow.
A few lucky locations in the world on Sunday witnessed an annular "ring of fire" solar eclipse that hid most of the sun. The astronauts on the International Space Station were treated to a very different view of the event.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy shared a collection of wild photos on Sunday showing the moon's shadow darkening Earth below.
Super cool view of the Annular Solar Eclipse which passed by our starboard side as we flew over China this morning. A pretty neat way to wake up on Father's Day morning! Hoping all of the dads in the world have a wonderful day! #Eclipse #FathersDay #HappyFathersDay2020 pic.twitter.com/vJx5yOFAcb
— Chris Cassidy (@Astro_SEAL) June 21, 2020
"Super cool view of the Annular Solar Eclipse, which passed by our starboard side as we flew over China this morning," Cassidy wrote. He used the occasion to also wish all the dads in the world a happy Father's Day.
Eclipse viewers on Earth saw either a partial or full annular eclipse. Since the moon was too far away from Earth to completely hide the sun, it created a "ring of fire" effect. From the ISS viewpoint, the eclipse appeared as a large shadow cast by the moon.
We have one more solar eclipse to look forward to this year on Dec. 14 for parts of South America. For more on catching solar and lunar eclipses, check out our CNET guide.
