{"id":595847,"date":"2026-08-17T08:58:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T08:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/595847\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T08:58:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T08:58:59","slug":"nasa-aircraft-captures-stunning-footage-of-august-12-total-solar-eclipse-from-50000-feet-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/595847\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA aircraft captures stunning footage of August 12 total solar eclipse from 50,000 feet; watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n              The footage was taken using a suite of cameras aboard the WB-57 spacecraft which took off Iceland.\n            <\/p>\n<p>NASA has shared a stunning new video of the<a href=\"https:\/\/starlust.org\/total-solar-eclipse-2026-recap-key-highlights-images-videos-and-what-comes-next\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> total solar eclipse<\/a> captured on August 12. The footage was taken using a suite of cameras aboard the WB-57 aircraft, which took off from Iceland to study the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere, called the corona. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/starlust.org\/profile\/nasa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NASA<\/a>, the plane flew at an altitude of 50,000 feet along the path of totality\u2014the regions where the Moon completely covered the Sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The video captures the eclipse going from partial to total and darkening the sky as the Moon fully blocked the Sun. A zoomed-in view into the Sun shows a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/image-article\/what-solar-prominence\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">prominence<\/a> (a glowing loop of plasma) emerging from its edge. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/heliophysics\/nasa-science-soars-during-august-total-solar-eclipse\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a>, NASA had said that the cameras aboard the plane will take high-resolution images (at least 20 per second) of the corona in several different wavelengths of visible and infrared light. The cameras were part of an instrument developed at NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center to record structures, outflows, and rapid changes in the corona.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"figure-image\" contenteditable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/original.jpg\" alt=\"AMPOSTA, SPAIN - AUGUST 12: A total solar eclipse is seen on August 12, 2026 in the Ebro Delta, near Amposta, Spain. It was the first time a total solar eclipse, when the sun is blocked by the moon's orbit, could be viewed from Spain since 1905. (Photo by James Breeden\/Getty Images)\"\/><br \/>\nA total solar eclipse is seen on August 12, 2026, in the Ebro Delta, near Amposta, Spain. (Image Source: James Breeden | Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The objective of this observation was to investigate how solar prominences form and how the corona heats to a million degrees. These images may also help scientists understand how the material in the corona and the solar wind are related. The total solar eclipse on August 12 was the first to be observed from mainland Europe since 1999 and the first for Spain since 1905.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"figure-image\" contenteditable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786957138_740_original.jpg\" alt=\"GUADALAJARA, SPAIN - AUGUST 12: A view of the sun behind El Toro Osborne 'The Osborne Bull' during the total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026 in Guadalajara, Spain. It was the first time a total solar eclipse, when the sun is blocked by the moon's orbit, could be viewed from Spain since 1905. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez\/Getty Images)\"\/><br \/>\nA view of the sun behind El Toro Osborne &#8216;The Osborne Bull&#8217; during the total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, in Guadalajara, Spain. (Image Source: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez| Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Countries like Russia, Iceland, Greenland, Spain and small part of Portugal witnessed the total eclipse, whereas other parts of Europe, the US, Canada, and northwestern Africa saw a partial eclipse.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When is the next solar eclipse?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The year 2027 is bringing not one but two solar eclipses. The first is an annular eclipse that will create a \u2018ring of fire\u2019 on February 6, whereas a total solar eclipse will occur on August 2. The latter is being called the \u2018eclipse of the century,&#8217; as the totality will last 6 minutes and 23 seconds. This total solar eclipse\u2014the longest since 1991\u2014will pass across North Africa, and the longest one after this won\u2019t be visible until 2114. Read more about it <a href=\"https:\/\/starlust.org\/mark-your-calendar-2027-brings-a-ring-of-fire-eclipse-and-a-record-long-total-eclipse\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"figure-image\" contenteditable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/de40cj7fpezr7.cloudfront.net\/f7ae0fb6-9509-4398-916a-d6db4e971c91.png\" alt=\"'Ring of fire' phase of an annular eclipse of the sun, as seen from Klamath County, Oregon, on October 14, 2023. (Cover Image Source: Getty| Philip Yabut)\"\/><br \/>\n&#8216;Ring of fire&#8217; phase of an annular eclipse of the Sun, as seen from Klamath County, Oregon, on October 14, 2023. (Image Source: Getty| Philip Yabut)<\/p>\n<p>As for the annular eclipse, it will pass over southern Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, a small part of Brazil, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Moon will cover about 93 percent of the Sun, and the peak will last for about 7 minutes and 51 seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>More on Starlust<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/starlust.org\/august-12-solar-eclipse-from-international-space-station-nasa-astronaut-jessica-meir-shares-photos\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">August 12 solar eclipse from International Space Station: NASA astronaut Jessica Meir shares photos<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/starlust.org\/perseid-meteor-shower-peak-2026-best-images-of-the-celestial-fireworks-from-august-12-13\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Perseid meteor shower peak 2026: Best images of the celestial fireworks from August 12-13<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The footage was taken using a suite of cameras aboard the WB-57 spacecraft which took off Iceland. NASA&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,60,82],"class_list":["post-595847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}