Ever wondered what a solar eclipse looks like from space? The astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have the answer, and it’s literally out of this world. As we Earthlings were craning our necks and donning those nifty eclipse glasses, seven crew members were floating 260 miles above us, getting a front-row seat to the celestial show. Orbiting past the eclipse on a Monday, these spacefarers snapped some stunning photos that put our ground-based Instagram efforts to shame.
The spectacle seen from the ISS revealed the moon’s shadow as it cast a swath of darkness across the Northeastern coast of the US and part of Canada, a phenomenon known as the path of totality. Imagine looking down to see an entire region plunged into darkness in the middle of the day, while you’re just orbiting away, unaffected by the terrestrial commotion. It puts a whole new spin on “having a good view,” doesn’t it? Let’s face it, these astronauts just upped the ante for cosmic viewing parties.
