See Astronaut's Sublime Shot of Total Lunar Eclipse Snapped From the ISS
A total eclipse of the moon.
Earthlings on Earth weren't the only ones who got to witness the lovely blushing of the "flower blood moon" total lunar eclipse on Sunday night and Monday morning. Residents of the International Space Station had a great view of the spectacular celestial event.
European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti shared a beautiful series of photos of the eclipse as seen from orbit. "A partially eclipsed moon playing hide-and-seek with our solar panel," Cristoforetti tweeted on Monday.
A partially eclipsed Moon playing hide-and-seek with our solar panel. / Eclissi parziale della luna che gioca a nascondino con il nostro pannello solare. 🌘 #lunareclipse2022 #BloodMoon #MissionMinerva pic.twitter.com/P7oYFcfTdA
— Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) May 16, 2022
The photos show the eclipse in progress, with the moon peeking under the station's solar panels. One stunning view also shows Earth below, clouds visible against an expanse of blue. The images highlight the subtle shading of the moon as our planet threw its shadow across it.
Cristoforetti shared another look with just the eclipsed moon peeking over the curve of Earth.
Happy Monday from space! Were you lucky enough to be able to see the lunar eclipse last night? We were! / Buon lunedì dallo spazio! Avete avuto la fortuna di vedere l'eclissi lunare di ieri sera? Noi sì! 🌘#lunareclipse2022 #MissionMinerva #LunarEclipse pic.twitter.com/RKJ49L4YAX
— Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) May 16, 2022
Cristoforetti is an accomplished space photographer, having snapped plenty of gorgeous images during her last stay on the ISS in 2014 and 2015. Her most recent stint started in late April as part of NASA's Crew-4 mission launched by SpaceX.
I watched the eclipse last night from New Mexico. As the shadow moved across the moon, the ISS flew over, a bright bead of light crossing against the starry sky. So as I was seeing the ISS, Cristoforetti was likely tracking the eclipse, too. It doesn't matter whether you're on the ground or up in orbit, an eclipse is worth witnessing.