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.
Here are some shots of yesterday’s lunar eclipse. We only had short windows of time to catch a glimpse of the moon before it was obstructed by parts of the @Space_Station. My crewmates, @zenanaut and @Astro_Kimiya were able to get some great shots as well. pic.twitter.com/XmJKHFqqxG
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.
My view from the @Space_Station of yesterday’s lunar eclipse. It’s 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.… pic.twitter.com/gVU6DOhfCK
Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui came closest of all to capturing the total eclipse from the ISS.
その後、ロシアモジュールの窓から、引き続き月食を見させていただきました！
後で、お礼に日本食を持っていこうっと！ pic.twitter.com/E2qUvpBTgq
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.
After 13 suborbital test flights and more than $15 billion in development costs, SpaceX's Starship has finally reached orbit. The 407-foot megarocket, the most powerful ever built, lifted off from Starbase, Texas, on Monday and delivered its first real payload on it's 14th attempt. The celebration came with an asterisk, though, since SpaceX had to cut the planned 10-hour mission to roughly three hours.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2104601695711904180
SpaceX is finally ready to give Starship its biggest test yet. The company says the massive rocket's 14th test flight is scheduled for September 22, when it will attempt to put the upper stage into Earth orbit for the first time. The launch is currently pending regulatory approval, with a 75-minute window opening at 7:15 a.m. CT.
Starship has 26 Starlink satellites to deliver
For decades, humanity has looked up at the Moon and wondered what it would be like to live on it. Think sprawling cities, factories, research centers, and permanent human settlements. Unfortunately, there is one fairly fundamental problem with that vision.
A new study published in Frontiers in Space Technologies argues that even the Moon's potentially enormous reserves of frozen water may be nowhere near enough to support city-sized populations sustainably. Researchers Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell estimate that the permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles could contain roughly one billion tons of water. It sounds like an extraordinary amount until you put a million thirsty humans next to it.