The Aug. 12 complete photo voltaic eclipse did not solely plunge hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout Greenland, Iceland and Spain right into a false twilight — a fleet of spacecraft orbiting our planet managed to seize the magic, too.
August’s total solar eclipse occurred as the moon handed straight between the solar and Earth throughout its month-to-month new moon part. These fortunate sufficient to be within the path of totality watched on in awe because the moon progressively swallowed the sunshine of the solar, finally revealing our star’s tenuous environment towards a prematurely darkened night sky.
It was a present of really epic proportions — and perhaps one whose scale may be significantly appreciated when seen via the mechanical eyes of NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft that observe our planet and solar from afar. Learn on to see some breathtaking views of the Aug. 12 complete photo voltaic eclipse from orbit.
The Aug. 12 complete photo voltaic eclipse, seen from area
Our first view comes courtesy of NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, who captured the moon taking a chunk out of the sun from the Russian section of the International Space Station (ISS) on Aug. 12.
“Given the location of the @Space_Station at the time of the total solar eclipse immediately, we noticed solely a partial eclipse, with a peak of round 18% solar protection,” Meir mentioned in an X post accompanying the images.
Given the placement of the @Space_Station on the time of the full photo voltaic eclipse immediately, we noticed solely a partial eclipse, with a peak of round 18% solar protection. Right here’s the way it appeared from a window within the Russian section about 45 minutes in the past. Picture of the solar taken with a Nikon Z9,… pic.twitter.com/BUrMQVR808August 12, 2026
Across the similar time, photographer Joel Kowsky managed to line up a beautiful shot of the ISS because it handed throughout the face of our eclipsed star within the skies over Hodgdon, Maine.
The dual spacecraft of the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission additionally captured a beautiful (although largely redundant) view of the moon shifting to occult the solar’s disk, which, on this case, was already completely hidden behind the lead spacecraft’s coronograph!
Each Proba-3 spacecraft are designed to fly in excellent formation consistent with the solar. The “Occulter” spacecraft, closest to the solar, is supplied with a big sunshield, or coronagraph. This coronagraph blocks the solar’s disk for the extra distant member within the Proba-3 formation, permitting that spacecraft to picture our star’s environment in unimaginable element.
Due to their distinctive setup, for a short second on Aug. 12, the Proba-3 spacecraft recorded a rare double eclipse, because the moon and its synthetic mimic concurrently hid gentle emanating from our dad or mum star.
Sitting about 22,370 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth’s floor, ESA’s Meteosat Third Era Imager Satellite tv for pc (MGT-I1) caught a spectacular view of the moon’s shadow darkening our planet.
Photo voltaic eclipse as seen from area! From its vantage level in area, the Meteosat Third Era Imager satellite tv for pc (MTG-I1) captured the Moon’s darkish shadow because it handed over Earth’s floor – converging with the advancing twilight shadow as nightfall fell over Europe.… pic.twitter.com/dAQVyuXiIPAugust 13, 2026
The moon’s shadow may be seen arcing south within the satellite tv for pc imagery, earlier than finally combining with the advancing terminator line, which heralded the transition from day to nighttime wherever it handed.
That very same shadow was observed on Aug. 12 by the U.S. Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GOES-19 satellite tv for pc because it saved watch over Earth from its perch in geostationary orbit.
This #FullDiskFriday, we revisit the #totalsolareclipse that @NOAA’s #GOESEast (#GOES19) 🛰️ captured on August 12, 2026. The moon moved straight between the Earth and solar, casting a shadow that travelled over Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Tens of millions of individuals on this path of… pic.twitter.com/y9nyXkpvs1August 14, 2026
You’ll want to take a look at our photograph roundup to see extra beautiful views of the Aug. 12 complete photo voltaic eclipse. Why not additionally learn up on this month’s lunar eclipse, which is able to see Earth’s shadow flip the moon a deep crimson in a single day on Aug. 27-28
Editor’s Word: If you need to share your astrophotography with House.com’s readers, then please ship your photograph(s), feedback, and your identify and placement to spacephotos@area.com.
