Solar Eclipse as Seen from Space

Because of its current distance from Earth, the moon looks exactly the same size as the sun to anybody looking up from any given point on the planet, which makes solar eclipses a very fortunate coincidence we are lucky to experience (I wonder whether this celestial size coincidence might have been a source of confusion to ancient scholars trying to understand the cosmos...).

The previous entry on The Moon, however, explains how the distance between the Earth and the Moon is increasing, which means that, over time, we will not be able to experience full solar eclipses because the moon will look smaller than the sun, and will therefore not be able to fully cover it the way it does now.

The following short video clip was recorded by the NASA STEREO spacecraft, and it gives us a glimpse of what solar eclipses will eventually look like in the future... the very distant future...

Totally amazing footage... I know...
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