NASA Releases Stunning Artemis II Earthset Eclipse Photos

NASA Releases Stunning Artemis II Earthset Eclipse Photos...

NASA unveiled breathtaking new images today showing Earth silhouetted against the sun during a rare orbital eclipse, captured by the Artemis II crew during their historic lunar flyby last week. The photos, taken on April 1, 2026, mark the first time humans have photographed an Earthset eclipse from deep space since the Apollo era.

The images are trending nationwide as Americans marvel at the cosmic perspective showing our planet as a delicate crescent against the solar corona. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called them "a humbling reminder of our place in the universe" during a live briefing from Johnson Space Center this morning.

Artemis II astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen witnessed the eclipse during their critical outbound trajectory burn near the Moon. The crew used high-resolution cameras aboard the Orion spacecraft to document the event, which occurred when Earth passed directly between the sun and their position in space.

Social media platforms exploded with shares of the images, with #EarthsetEclipse trending on Twitter. The photos provide the clearest view yet of atmospheric refraction bending sunlight around Earth's limb, a phenomenon last seen by human eyes during Apollo 17 in 1972.

Scientists say these images will help refine climate models by showing how Earth's atmosphere scatters sunlight in space. The Artemis II mission remains on schedule for its April 15 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, concluding NASA's first crewed lunar mission in 54 years.