This Is How the Solar Eclipse Looked From Space

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As viewers gathered to watch the total solar eclipse cross the sky in the U.S. on Monday, the astronauts on the International Space Station had multiple opportunities to see the moon cover the sun from space.

Crew members on Expedition 52 had their cameras outfitted with special filters to allow them to photograph the solar eclipse aboard the station. Because the station orbits the earth every 90 minutes, the astronauts saw partial views of the eclipse three different times, with different levels of coverage each time. They were unable to see a total view of the eclipse because the station did not pass through the moon’s umbra, according to NASA.

The crew on the International Space Station is made up of six astronauts: NASA’s Peggy Whitson, Jack Fischer and Randy Bresnik, Russia’s Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli.

Check out the photo below to see what the moon’s shadow over the U.S. looks like from space:

The moon's shadow over the United States from space is seen from the International Space Station from outer space
The umbra, the moon's shadow, over the United States from space is seen from the International Space Station from outer space on Aug. 21, 2017NASA/Reuters

 

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Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com