Category: The Moon

Satellites saw the moon’s shadow from space on Monday (April 8). The 2024 total solar eclipse was visible in parts of the United States, Canada and Mexico on that day, thrilling millions of spectators across North America  — and from space, satellites could see the shadow of the moon falling across those regions in real-time. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showcased the resulting photos, taken with the organization’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) series. For example, the imager on the GOES-16 satellite tracked the moon’s shadow using its…

On Monday, April 8, a total solar eclipse swept through the skies over North America, delighting and astounding millions of onlookers who had traveled from across the globe to take in this incredible event. And our own space readers got in on the act, too. The sun was completely obscured by the moon across what is known as the “path of totality,” which was approximately 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide and 10,000 miles long (16,000 kilometers).  This 2024 total solar eclipse path crossed the four Mexican states of Sinaloa, Nayarit,…

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — I worked out the perfect plan to propose to my partner during the April 8 solar eclipse, and the clouds somehow stayed away. I won’t bury the lede. She said yes.  I spent the last year planning my proposal to coincide with the 2024 total solar eclipse, lining up the perfect photo, figuring out what I would say, and getting the timing just right. I couldn’t be happier with how the day went. I’m not sure when it dawned on me, but with totality passing directly over my…

It’s the moment eclipse-chasers have been waiting for. This year’s first solar eclipse has begun!  The total solar eclipse first made landfall in North America at Mazatlán in Sinaloa, Mexico, with the moon beginning to take its first “bite” out of the sun at 9:51 a.m. local time (12:51 p.m. EDT, 1651 GMT). Totality will begin in Sinaloa about one hour and 16 minutes later at 11:07 a.m. local time (2:07 p.m. EDT, 1807 GMT). You can watch the total solar eclipse live here on Space.com. And keep up with…

The highly anticipated total solar eclipse is here and we’re rounding up the best images of the phenomenon from across the web and social media. Here is where you’ll find the first and the latest eclipse images, as they come in.  The path of totality will cover parts of Mexico, America and Canada. For more information on the event, you can check out our Total Solar Eclipse Guide or our live blog for regular updates, as they happen. If you would like to, you can also share your images with…

It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for! Total solar eclipse 2024 is finally here. Today (April 8) a total solar eclipse will sweep across North America from Mexico, through 15 U.S. States and up through Canada. For viewers inside the path of totality, the moon will completely cover the sun, darkening the sky and revealing our star’s hidden outer atmosphere. You can keep up to date with the latest eclipse content on our eclipse live blog and watch all the total eclipse action unfold live here on Space.com courtesy…

We live in a light-polluted world, where streetlamps, electronic ads and even backyard lighting block out all but the brightest celestial objects in the night sky. But travel to an officially protected “Dark Sky” area, gaze skyward and be amazed. This is the view of the heavens people had for millennia. Pre-modern societies watched the sky and created cosmographies, maps of the skies that provided information for calendars and agricultural cycles. They also created cosmologies, which, in the original use of the word, were religious beliefs to explain the universe. The…