ISS astronaut snaps supermoon and lunar eclipse from orbit
There were no clouds to get in the way of viewing the supermoon extravaganza.
Life is a little different on the International Space Station. The residents see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every day, and there are no pesky clouds to get in the way of their moon views. Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide captured scenic views of the May 26 supermoon and lunar eclipse from orbit.
Hoshide is with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and is part of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission that arrived at the ISS in April.
Hoshide's trio of photos includes two looks at the supermoon, one of which shows part of the ISS in the foreground. There's a fuzzier shot of the eclipse in process, showing a sliver of the moon glowing against the darkness of space.
This is what the May 26 "blood moon" eclipse looked like from the ISS.
NASA shared Hoshide's shots on Wednesday morning, saying, "The crew aboard the space station observed today's supermoon and lunar eclipse!" Thanks to the moon's location in its elliptical orbit around Earth, it appeared a little brighter and a little bigger than usual.
The crew aboard the @Space_Station observed today's supermoon and lunar eclipse! @JAXA_en astronaut @Aki_Hoshide captured photos from orbit ⤵️ https://t.co/fX4X9hUsrw
— NASA (@NASA) May 26, 2021
The eclipse may be over now, but the "super flower blood moon" (so named for being a May supermoon that turned red during the eclipse) will live on in images.
Hoshide will likely be on Earth when the next total lunar eclipse comes around in May 2022. Crew-2 is scheduled to return home later this year.
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