A Change in Perspective: An Eclipse from Space

The provided photograph shows a total solar eclipse with a rare perspective. Rather than standing on Earth and looking up at the vanishing sun, this photo is one from space and shows the Moon’s shadow on a well-illuminated Earth surface. As the Moon passes in front of the sun, the Moon’s silhouette covers an area of about 160 km (≈100 mi) in diameter on Earth, which is equivalent to less than 1% of Earth’s surface area.

Thousands of years even before the most primitive telescopes were spying on space, eclipses have intrigued our species and caused us to wonder. The ancient Chinese, Babylonians, Egyptians, and countless other civilizations wrote about the bizarre moments when the sun would become dark or when the moon would disappear from the heavens then reappear after a hiatus.

The answer was hidden in arithmetic. Many ancient civilizations could in time predict the phases of the moon, and the “movement” of the sun and stars across the blue and blackened canvas. That alone is fascinating. More so however is their willingness; no- their determination to do so. To explore and to question what they cannot touch and what they cannot see; that is what is fascinating.

Now, with the ability to monitor and track so much more in the sky, we owe our ancestors a great deal of credit. If that initial ‘wondering’ had never been explored, who’s to say where we would stand today in the cosmos. Perhaps photos like this one may have never existed. It is the ‘wondering’ that keeps our species afloat. It is the ‘wondering’ that keeps our species on planet Earth. It is the ‘wondering’ that inspires us to leave.

--Pete D

Photo Credit: NASA