inorbit - the view from above

Eclipse'98 In Orbit

In Orbit - The View from Above

There are several ways to observe the eclipse from high above the ground. For example. there are geostationary weather satellites, spy satellites, low-orbiting weather satellites, the Hubble Space Telescope, The MIR station, cameras on the Moon or orbiting the Moon (Clementine!), and more. Just imagine you're on one of these satellites, flying and zipping through space, and then you dive into the cast shadow between the Moon and Earth.

Also, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has observed the shadow of moons on other planets (e.g. Saturn, Jupiter). Imagine what you would see if you were right in that dark spot and looking at the Sun.... another total eclipse!

And last but not least, there are nice software packages available these days to create a virtual eclipse, such as the ones occuring around Jupiter so often (hey, what if Earth had a dozen of Moons!?).

Links showing the view from above:

GOES observations of earlier eclipses

An eclipse by Europa as seen from Ganymede

Europa eclipses sun, as seen from Ganymede

HST sees solar eclipse on Jupiter with IO

HST sees plane crossing on Saturn and moon's shadow (text)

Interested in creating your own view? This link gets you to a place where you can pretend to be on the Moon, on the Sun, or hop onto a satellite and look down at Earth. You can even enter your longitude/lattitude or select a major city and the altitude from where you want to look down.

Fourmilab's Earth and Moon Viewer!
This site has great views, from the Moon, the Sun, and satellites!

APOD: NASA's Clementine Project

NOAA

Also, don't forget to view our combined satellite / webcams (dito.html) page, where you'll see views from weather satellites and webcams together, showing the shadow of the Moon creep across the Pacific and Southern Caribbean, and you'll also see how some areas shown by webcams will get darker for a short period.

last updated: Jan 17, 1998 /a/ps