This is what the solar eclipse looked like from space
Thanks to the millions who witnessed and photographed the total solar eclipse on Monday, we're quite familiar with what the event looked like from the ground.
But what did it look like from space?
Thankfully, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is testing out its latest weather satellite, known as GOES-16, which launched in November of 2016. The agency put the satellite to use tracking the eclipse.
The agency released a series of images and animations on Monday featuring the moon's shadow as it creeped across the lower 48 states.
This first image, taken by the satellite's Advanced Baseline Imager, picked up the moon's shadow coming ashore in the Pacific Northwest.
The NOAA, which operates weather satellites, forecasts severe weather, and protects marine species, among other duties, also released an image later in the day showing the shadow of the eclipse located across the East Coast.
The imager that took this photo can take a snapshot of Earth every 15 minutes.
Astronauts on the International Space Station also had a unique vantage point for the eclipse, which they shared via social media.
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NASA also released a video showing the view that its DISCOVR satellite had from a million miles away. The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard that satellite captured 12 images of the moon's shadow crossing North America on Aug. 21.
This view appears to speed up the eclipse's progression, but that's an artificial effect from how frequently this satellite snaps photos of the Earth, NASA said.
NASA and NOAA will likely have newer, and even better platforms in the sky when the next total solar eclipse appears above the U.S. in 2024.
Andrew Freedman is Mashable's Senior Editor for Science and Special Projects. Prior to working at Mashable, Freedman was a Senior Science writer for Climate Central. He has also worked as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Greenwire/E&E Daily. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, online at The Weather Channel, and washingtonpost.com, where he wrote a weekly climate science column for the "Capital Weather Gang" blog. He has provided commentary on climate science and policy for Sky News, CBC Radio, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sirius XM Radio, PBS NewsHour, and other national and international outlets. He holds a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
