Artemis II Astronauts Capture Solar Eclipse from Moon's Dark Side

Summary

The Artemis II crew experienced a 54-minute solar eclipse while orbiting the moon's dark side, a phenomenon not visible from Earth. NASA has released images taken by the astronauts, including shots from a Nikon Z9 with a 35mm lens and a Nikon D5 with an 80-400mm lens, showcasing the sun's corona and distant planets. Reflected Earthlight provided some illumination of the moon's surface details in the photographs. The astronauts also used cardboard eclipse glasses, similar to those for Earth-based viewing, and took a selfie with an iPhone 17 Pro Max during the event.

Key points

• Artemis II astronauts photographed a 54-minute solar eclipse from the moon's far side.
• Images were captured using Nikon Z9 and Nikon D5 cameras with various lenses.
• Reflected Earthlight illuminated lunar surface details in the eclipse photos.
• Astronauts used cardboard eclipse glasses and took a selfie with an iPhone 17 Pro Max.