This week’s eclipse has been documented from the perspective of the moon.
Unlike the lunar eclipse observed from Earth, on the moon it appeared as a solar eclipse.
The photographs were captured by a camera aboard the unmanned Blue Ghost spacecraft that successfully landed on the moon earlier this month.
Blue Ghost pictured ahead of its launch and subsequent moon landing. Pic: Firefly Aerospace
The operator, Firefly Aerospace, stated that it was the first instance in history of a commercial company being active on the moon during an eclipse.
During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth comes in between the moon and the sun, obscuring the moon’s exposure to sunlight.
On Friday, the moon took on a red hue in an event known as a blood moon. The entire lunar eclipse was visible from North and South America, while only a partial lunar eclipse was visible in the UK.
The initial image of the celestial occurrence from the moon captures the Earth starting to obscure the sun.
In the same image, the reflection of the lander’s solar panel also shows the solar eclipse.
In a caption on X accompanying the 14 March photo, Firefly Aerospace wrote: “BlueGhost caught her first look at the solar eclipse from the moon around 12.30am CDT – notice the glowing ring of light emerge in the reflection of our solar panel as the Earth began to block the sun!”
A second image, taken from the landing site, displays the “diamond ring” as the sun is about to emerge from totality behind Earth.
A third photo depicts the Blue Ghost acquiring a reddish hue during the event.
Firefly Aerospace stated: “The red hue is the result of sunlight refracting through the Earth’s atmosphere as the sun is blocked by our planet, casting a shadow on the lunar surface. The glowing ring of the eclipse is again seen on Blue Ghost’s solar panel.”
Blue Ghost’s three solar panels have been powering the lander’s research instruments for a 14-day mission on the moon.
Read more from Sky News:
Rocket with replacement crew for stranded astronauts launches
What can being in space for so long do to your health?
The moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse in Hopkins, South Carolina. Pic: Reuters
The four-legged Blue Ghost, comparable in size to a compact car, landed on 2 March near an ancient volcanic vent on Mare Crisium, a large basin in the northeastern region of the moon’s Earth-facing side.
It is equipped with 10 scientific payloads and utilized 21 thrusters to guide itself to the lunar surface.
It is equipped with tools such as a vacuum for collecting moon soil for analysis and a drill for measuring temperatures up to 10 feet deep.
Firefly Aerospace became the second private firm to achieve a moon landing, asserting itself as the first company to achieve a “fully successful” soft landing.
Houston-based Intuitive Machine’s Odysseus lander made an off-kilter landing last year, mostly intact but at the expense of many of its instruments on board.
Only five nations have previously succeeded in soft landings: The former Soviet Union, the US, China, India, and Japan.