Double Eclipse of the Sun!

This is simply too cool.

From SpaceWeather

DOUBLE ECLIPSE OF THE SUN: On Sept. 13th, the sun was eclipsed–twice! No one on Earth has ever seen anything like it. Indeed, it was only visible from Earth orbit. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded the event:

The double eclipse began around 06:30 UT when Earth passed directly between the sun and SDO. The observatory watched as the body of our planet moved slowly across the face of the sun, producing a near black-out. When the Earth finally moved aside about an hour later, another eclipse was in progress. This time, the Moon was in the way. A movie from the SDO science team explains the crazy-perfect alignment required for such a view. Update: This picture shows the Moon and the Earth in front of the sun at the same time.

(In the snaphots above, note how the edge of the Earth looks so much fuzzier than the edge of the Moon. That’s because our planet has a thick atmosphere and the Moon does not.)

Meanwhile on Earth, an ordinary partial eclipse was visible. People in South Africa and parts of Antarctica saw the Moon pass in front of the sun, off-center, producing crescent-shaped shadows and strange sunrises. Check the realtime photo galleryfor their images.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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4 Comments

  1. Auggie says:

    Fascinating story! Thanks for writing about this. I tend to think that astronomical “signs” are a gift to the Church.

  2. Bthompson says:

    Now all we need is a total eclipse of the heart!
    (Boo! I know)

  3. Kent Wendler says:

    Which reminds me: Have you made your plans for Aug. 22, 2017, for the central U.S. of A. total solar eclipse? I have, our Lord willing.

  4. Kent Wendler says: Aug. 22, 2017 total solar eclipse.

    That’s a great idea. First, it is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

    The maximum totality occurs in near Hopkinsville, Kentucky at 18:20 UTC. Totality will last for 2 mins 40 secs. HERE Wikipedia says longest totality will be in S. Illinois. 2 minutes 44.3 seconds at 37°38?12?N 89°15?24?W in the Shawnee National Forest just south of Carbondale, Illinois.

    Anyhoo, somewhere along the path close to longest totality, there has to be a friendly parish that would welcome a traditional Catholic invasion and hamfest.

    I think this would be a great event. Mass, blognic and TLM Total Eclipse Ham Radio Event.

    I note that totality also is seen North of KC, MO in St. Joseph and just north of Wyoming Catholic College!

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