Explanation:
What's that dark spot on planet Earth?
It's the shadow of the Moon.
The
above image of Earth was taken last week by
MTSAT during an annular eclipse of the Sun.
The dark spot appears quite unusual as clouds are white and the
oceans are blue
in this color corrected image.
Earthlings residing within the
dark spot would see part of the
Sun blocked by the Moon and so receive less sunlight than normal.
The
spot moved
across the Earth at nearly 2,000 kilometers per hour, giving many viewers less than
two hours
to see a partially eclipsed Sun.
MTSAT circles the Earth in a
geostationary orbit and so took the above image from about three Earth-diameters away.
Sky enthusiasts might want to keep their eyes
pointed upward this coming week as a
partial eclipse of the Moon will occur on June 4 and a
transit of Venus
across the face of the Sun will occur on June 5.
Note:
An APOD editor is scheduled to appear on
Weekly Space Hangout tomorrow.
