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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Looking Back at an Eclipsed Earth

Explanation: Here is what the Earth looks like during a solar eclipse . The shadow of the Moon can be seen darkening part of Earth . This shadow moved across the Earth at nearly 2000 kilometers per hour. Only observers near the center of the dark circle see a total solar eclipse - others see a partial eclipse where only part of the Sun appears blocked by the Moon . This spectacular picture of the 1999 August 11 solar eclipse was one of the last ever taken from the Mir space station . The two bright spots that appear on the upper left are thought to be Jupiter and Saturn . Mir was deorbited in a controlled re-entry in 2001.

Date January 2, 2011
Credit Credit: Mir 27 Crew ; Copyright: CNES
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.