While millions of people on terra firma gazed skyward on Sunday night to glimpse the latest lunar eclipse, several astronauts on the International Space Station 250 miles above were wielding cameras as they tried to capture some stunning images of the celestial event.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when Earth comes between the sun and the moon, casting a huge neighbor over our nearest neighbor. Sunday’s eclipse was viewable for folks in Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, and parts of the Middle East, though not in the Americas as the moon was below the horizon there.
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim shared several of his shots showing Earth’s shadow falling across the moon.
Fellow NASA astronaut Zena Cardman also posted some images, describing it as “a challenge to catch the moon up here — we don’t have any up-facing windows, so we can only see the moon for a few minutes between moonrise and moonset before it disappears above the ISS or below the horizon.”
She added that low-angle light bouncing through the multi-window Cupola module also made it more difficult to get the desired shot, but said it was “a lot of fun chasing those fleeting opportunities.”
Cardman also said that the slight distortion that you see is the result of refraction as the moon sets through the lens of Earth’s atmosphere.
Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui came closest of all to capturing the total eclipse from the ISS.
The entire lunar eclipse event, which involves Earth’s shadow first appearing on the moon to it crossing it completely and then leaving, lasted for about five-and-a-half hours. For folks on the ground, the total eclipse, where the shadow completely covers the moon, lasted 1 hour and 22 minutes, while for the astronauts it would have been considerably shorter due to the station orbiting Earth at a speed of about 17,500 mph. Still, thanks to the absence of any clouds, the ISS crew members were always guaranteed a clear view — one that they’re sure to never forget.
Astronauts aboard the ISS last year were lucky enough to witness a total solar eclipse, an experience that was totally different though no less dramatic.
