--- description: Astronauts on the International Space Station are gearing up to watch the total solar eclipse from space on August 21, 2017 title: How Astronauts on the International Space Station Are Watching the Solar Eclipse image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9064e842ea6c1051/69887e3d524fc09f37df6d35/mir-13.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Eclipse](/tag/eclipse/) ## Eclipse Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Astronauts on the International Space Station Are Watching the Solar Eclipse by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:31 AM CUTPublished: Aug 21, 2017 3:04 PM CUT  A view of the Earth during a solar eclipse. The shadow of the Moon can be seen darkening part of Earth. This shadow moves across the Earth at nearly 2,000 kilometers per hour. Only observers near the center of the dark circle see a total solar eclipse - others see a partial eclipse where only part of the Sun appears blocked by the Moon. This spectacular picture of the Aug. 11, 1999 solar eclipse was one of the last ever taken from the Mir space station. Mir was decommissioned after more than ten years of use. A view of the Earth during a solar eclipse. The shadow of the Moon can be seen darkening part of Earth. This shadow moves across the Earth at nearly 2,000 kilometers per hour. Only observers near the center of the dark circle see a total solar eclipse - others see a partial eclipse where only part of the Sun appears blocked by the Moon. This spectacular picture of the Aug. 11, 1999 solar eclipse was one of the last ever taken from the Mir space station. Mir was decommissioned after more than ten years of use.Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales/NASA/SSPL/Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:31 AM CUTPublished: Aug 21, 2017 3:04 PM CUT As millions of Americans look up to the sky to catch the [total solar eclipse](http://time.com/4843775/total-solar-eclipse-2017-facts/ "undefined") on Monday, or [watch TIME’s live broadcast](http://time.com/4900148/total-solar-eclipse-time-livestream/ "undefined"), astronauts on the International Space Station are gearing up for multiple views of the phenomenon. The crew on the Expedition 52 will not be in the [eclipse’s path of totality](http://time.com/4907933/an-oregon-wildfire-is-blazing-in-the-eclipses-path-of-totality/ "undefined"), but will see a partial view of the solar eclipse three times as they orbit the Earth from the station. The International Space Station will pass through moon’s penumbra shadow, giving the crew a partial view each time. Since the station won’t pass through the moon’s umbra, the astronauts will not see the total eclipse, [according to NASA](https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/iss-observations "undefined"). Each astronaut will have their cameras outfitted with special filters so they can photograph the solar eclipse aboard the station. “We get three different looks at the eclipse,” astronaut Randy Bresnik said during a [NASA Facebook session](https://www.facebook.com/NASA/ "undefined") on Friday. “Because we are going around the Earth every 90 minutes and about the time it takes the sun to cross the U.S., we’ll get to see it three times.” **_NEXT:_** [**_Watch the Whole Total Solar Eclipse in 4 Minutes_**](http://time.com/4900280/total-solar-eclipse-2017-video-watch/ "undefined") The [International Space Station](http://time.com/4908100/total-solar-eclipse-fly-plane-watch/ "undefined") will first see the eclipse just before it begins in the U.S. The [total solar eclipse](http://time.com/4750899/total-solar-eclipse/ "undefined") is set to start in Lincoln Beach, Ore. around 9:05 a.m. PST. The crew should see a partial eclipse with about 38% of the sun obscured by the moon. The second time, the International Space Station will see about 43.9% of the sun covered by the moon. Astronauts will also see the moon’s shadow as it passes over parts of Illinois and Kentucky. “As we come around the Earth again, this time on the second pass, we will actually cross over,” Bresnik said. “We will be north of Lake Huron in Canada when we will be able to see the umbra, or the shadow of the moon, of the eclipse on the Earth. \[Mission Control is\] telling us around Tennessee-Kentucky, the western side of those states, that area, that we will be able to see it close to the horizon.” > [](https://twitter.com/Astro2fish/status/899640308756996097) On its third orbit, the crew will see the eclipse as it passes over the East Coast. In the partial eclipse, 84% of the sun will be covered by the moon at its maximum point. 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