European spacecraft observed yesterday's solar eclipse twice from space | Watch video

The European Space Agency's Sun-watching spacecraft, Proba-2, observed two partial solar eclipses on 25 October 2022. The spacecraft was able to see the eclipse twice as it orbits the Earth in about 100 minutes.

A solar eclipse is caused by the movement of the Moon around Earth. For us on Earth, the Moon passes only once in front of the Sun during a solar eclipse. ESA's Proba-2 made the first observation of the solar eclipse around 10:30 UTC (12:30 CEST) while the second partial eclipse was captured around 12:25 UTC (14:25 CEST). 

Watch this video that shows both eclipses:

Video Credit: ESA/ROB

The October 25 partial solar eclipse was visible from most parts of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, with the Moon blocking 82% of the sunlight near the North Pole. In Europe, up to 40% of the sunlight was obscured during the event, according to ESA.

For the unversed, ESA's Proba-2 was launched onboard a Rockot launcher, an adaptation of the Cold-War era SS-19 missile, from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 2 November 2009. The spacecraft monitors the Sun's behavior to better understand the influence of space weather on our planet.

The spacecraft's SWAP instrument studies the Sun in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light where it focuses on the corona – the Sun's hot turbulent atmosphere – at temperatures of about a million degrees.

Missed yesterday's partial solar #eclipse? ESA's Proba-2 #Sun-watching spacecraft has got it covered, twice! More details here 👉 https://t.co/hNxaSImzrZ pic.twitter.com/WKTgQpkrRi

— ESA (@esa) October 26, 2022