A total solar eclipse that was only visible from the edge of the Earth occurred in late 2021. Aircraft flew beneath the hazy Southern Ocean to photograph the rare spectacle. The highlighted image displays a singular, comparatively remarkable capture, with the eclipsed Moon appearing as the dark point in the middle and the Sun's outer corona as the bright spot. On the far left of the picture, you can see another airplane watching the eclipse, and across the left and bottom of the picture, you can see the wing and engine of the aircraft.
A shadow cone is the black region of the sky that encircles the eclipsed Sun. You are peering along a lengthy air tunnel that is shaded by the moon, which is why it seems dark. Mercury, the planet to the right of the eclipsed Sun, can be seen with close examination. The next total solar eclipse won't require you to travel to the edge of the planet to witness it. A little more than one week from now, on April 8, 2024, the path of the total eclipse will traverse North America.
Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek (ESO Photo Ambassador, Inst. of Physics in Opava) ; Acknowledgement: Xavier Jubier
