08 April 2024 , 21:05
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Millions of Americans were left in awe as they witnessed a rare total solar eclipse today that plunged parts of 15 states into darkness.
While Earth is the only rocky planet that has total eclipses, other planets do have partial eclipses and NASA has shared incredible images revealing what one looks like on Mars. The photos were captured in 2022 when the NASA Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z camera system shot a video of Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons, eclipsing the Sun.
It marked the highest-resolution observation of a Phobos solar eclipse ever taken. In February, the Perseverance rover, which landed on the planet in 2021, took photos showing Mars’ tiny moon Phobos crossing in front of the much larger sun after Mars' other moon, Deimos, completed a transit in January.
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The camera system took the highest resolution photos yet of the moon (NASA/JPL-CALTECH/ASU)The photos were taken from Mars’ Jezero Crater, where the Perseverance rover took photos before NASA engineers uploaded the never-before-seen images for the public to view. Last week NASA shared timelapses of the past eclipses on Mars in anticipation of today’s solar eclipse.
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While not everyone experienced the full spectacle, a large portion of North America had a chance to catch at least a partial eclipse. The eclipse started on the Pacific coast at around 11.07 am Pacific Time before it hit Texas, trailed through Oklahoma and on to Tennessee and Ohio before it was visible in Maine. It finished its journey at 5.16pm local time on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland.
An enhanced-color image of Phobos from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter with Stickney crater (UIG via Getty Images)Boston, New York, and Chicago also saw enough of the Sun eclipsed to feel part of the experience and 48 US states saw a partial eclipse. If you weren't in America today, fear not, you will have to wait two years before the next solar eclipse but you can catch it in Northern Spain in 2026.
Mars' Phobos moon completed one transit on February 8 this year (Getty Images/Picture Press RM)Both NASA and Bill Nye emphasised the importance of viewing the eclipse safely. The space agency said: “You must look through safe solar viewing glasses ('eclipse glasses') or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun.”
Nye added: “Everybody be safe I’m not joking you. It's human nature - everybody has glanced at the sun - but when there’s a total eclipse you just want to stare at it and so you can injure your eyes.” Nye demonstrated the power of eclipse glasses by holding up a phone torch to the lenses, which completely blacked out the power of the iPhone light.