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February 21, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Incredible image shows what 2026\u2019s first solar eclipse looked like from space<\/p>\n A satellite captured a recent \u201cring of fire\u201d eclipse from a stunning new angle<\/p>\n By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n The “ring of fire” solar eclipse on February 17<\/p>\n ESA\/Royal Observatory of Belgium<\/p>\n Just days ago the moon traveled directly between Earth and the sun in what was the first solar eclipse of the year, producing a striking \u201cring of fire\u201d effect in the sky. Unluckily for many sky-gazers, however, only those in Antarctica, or just off the coast of it, would have seen the full eclipse on February 17.<\/p>\n But now new images from the European Space Agency (ESA) reveal the solar eclipse in all its plasmatic glory thanks to ESA\u2019s PROBA-2 satellite. PROBA-2 is a small satellite that hosts two primary instruments designed to observe the sun and other instruments to study space weather. As the craft orbited our planet, the satellite imaged the eclipse at least four times and captured a \u201cperfect\u201d ring of fire, according to the agency.<\/p>\n Also known as an annular eclipse, the ring of fire effect is created because the moon appears slightly smaller than the sun in the sky. Although the moon passes directly in between Earth and our star during this kind of eclipse, it isn\u2019t close enough to totally block out the sun\u2019s light, leaving a glowing halo.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n Images from four of PROBA-2’s passes over the eclipse zone<\/p>\n ESA\/Royal Observatory of Belgium<\/p>\n From the prime viewing spot of Concordia Station in Antarctica, the ring was reportedly visible for about two minutes.<\/p>\n The next eclipse of 2026 is a total lunar eclipse beginning on March 3 UTC. Then Earth will cast a shadow on the moon, imbuing it with a red hue. Known as a \u201cblood moon,\u201d the eclipse will be at least partially, if not totally, visible to viewers in Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 21, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Incredible image shows what 2026\u2019s first solar eclipse looked like from space A satellite captured a recent \u201cring of fire\u201d eclipse from a stunning new angle By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron The “ring of fire” solar eclipse on February 17 ESA\/Royal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44909","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-environment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n