--- title: Here's What a Solar Eclipse Looks Like From Space description: A phenomenon that is eye-popping on Earth is less so when viewed from the balcony. canonical: https://time.com/6962668/what-does-solar-eclipse-look-like-space/ author: Jeffrey Kluger article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-04-07T12:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:23:46.128Z article:section: Science og:title: Here's What a Solar Eclipse Looks Like From Space og:description: A phenomenon that is eye-popping on Earth is less so when viewed from the balcony. og:url: https://time.com/6962668/what-does-solar-eclipse-look-like-space/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad621729be9052a1/698a5548db2987c5b526b822/iss052e056122orig.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: iss052e056122~orig og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's What a Solar Eclipse Looks Like From Space twitter:description: A phenomenon that is eye-popping on Earth is less so when viewed from the balcony. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad621729be9052a1/698a5548db2987c5b526b822/iss052e056122orig.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What a Solar Eclipse Looks Like From Space ## Video: 2024 U.S. Total Eclipse Explained [Watch (HLS stream): 2024 U.S. Total Eclipse Explained](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MOMY0Lpx.m3u8) (2:13)  _Published 2024-02-27. A rare total solar eclipse will occur across Mexico, the U.S., and Canada on April 8, 2024, when the moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun, blocking the sun’s rays during the day time, causing a temporary period of darkness. TIME Editor-at-Large Jeffrey Kluger explains the best way to experience it._  by [Jeffrey Kluger](/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large Apr 7, 2024 12:00 PM CUT  Millions of people across the U.S. experienced a total eclipse in Aug. 2017 as the umbra, or moon’s shadow, passed over them. Only six people witnessed the umbra from space. Millions of people across the U.S. experienced a total eclipse in Aug. 2017 as the umbra, or moon’s shadow, passed over them. Only six people witnessed the umbra from space.NASA/JSC  by [Jeffrey Kluger](/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large Apr 7, 2024 12:00 PM CUT Few people get a better view of the Earth than those who are actually _off_ the Earth—astronauts who can look down on our planet from above. They are the lucky handful who get to experience the so-called [overview effect](https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts/houston-we-have-a-podcast/the-overview-effect/ "undefined")—the transcendent sense of seeing the world as the fragile biosphere it is, set against the blackness of space. But when it comes to witnessing a solar eclipse, the astronauts don’t have it so good, with a phenomenon that is flat-out eye popping when witnessed from the surface of our world, appearing dark, unsettling, and even a little ugly from space. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun, blocking out most of its light. It’s as striking as it is thanks to a bit of cosmic serendipity: the sun is about 400 times bigger than the moon, but it’s also about 400 times farther away, meaning that the two disks appear to be about the same size when we see them in our skies. During an eclipse, that makes for a perfect fit, with the moon obscuring the entire body of the sun, while allowing the solar fires to flare out on all sides. **Read More**: [_These Are All the Different Types of Eclipses_](https://time.com/6882980/eclipse-types-lunar-annular/ "undefined") Magnificent as that juxtaposition seems, it’s really nothing more dramatic than the moon casting a localized shadow on Earth. As the moon orbits the Earth, and the Earth spins on its axis, that shadow moves across the surface of the planet at about 1,600 km/h (1,000 mph). So what would you see if you were looking down on it from above? A dark, moving blotch—a sort of floating bruise on the world. "It was unlike anything I've ever seen," former space station astronaut Terry Virts recently [told USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/03/30/how-solar-looks-from-space/73019253007/ "undefined"). "I joke I'm glad they told us there was an eclipse because it would have been unsettling to look down at Earth and see this black spot moving across." **Read More**: [_Where You Can Watch the Solar Eclipse_](https://time.com/6835995/how-to-watch-solar-eclipse-cities/ "undefined") On April 8, that black spot will be racing to the northeast, from western Mexico, through Texas and up toward New England and Canada’s maritime provinces, visible in its totality to more than 31 million people in the U.S. alone. They will have some of the best seats in the house for the command performance that will be playing out in the skies. Meantime, as the [10 people currently in space](https://whoisinspace.com/ "undefined")—seven aboard the International Space Station and three aboard China’s Tiangong space station—will learn anew, the view from the balcony often doesn’t measure up. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6962668/what-does-solar-eclipse-look-like-space/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6962668/what-does-solar-eclipse-look-like-space/"},"headline":"Here's What a Solar Eclipse Looks Like From Space","datePublished":"2024-04-07T12:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:23:46.128Z","description":"A phenomenon that is eye-popping on Earth is less so when viewed from the balcony.","url":"https://time.com/6962668/what-does-solar-eclipse-look-like-space/","keywords":["Eclipse","healthscienceclimate","Solar Eclipse 2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad621729be9052a1/698a5548db2987c5b526b822/iss052e056122orig.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeffrey Kluger","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad621729be9052a1/698a5548db2987c5b526b822/iss052e056122orig.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"iss052e056122~orig","caption":"iss052e056122 (Aug. 21, 2017) --- As millions of people across the United States experienced a total eclipse as the umbra, or moon’s shadow passed over them, only six people witnessed the umbra from space. 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