The International Space Station Totally Photobombed The Eclipse

Ultimate attention seeking 🌘
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Everyone loves to be centre of attention, and it seems the International Space Station is no different after it decided it wasn’t content being outdone by the moon’s popularity on Monday.

Instead of letting everyone in North America get excited about the first total solar eclipse in almost a century (it was a pretty big deal) the ISS decided to steal some of the limelight for itself.

Just as millions of people across the world tuned in to catch a glimpse of the sky fall dark, a NASA photographer Joel Kowsky, who was watching from Wyoming, USA, captured the ISS photobombing the sun.  

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NASA/Joel Kowsky

As the moon snuck in front, Kowsky snapped the silhouette of the space station and it’s six crew members - NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson, Jack Fischer and Randy Bresnik, Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli - passing by the sun.

Taken using the Nikon D500 with a speed of 1,500 frames per second (the ISS is hurtling past at roughly five miles per second) the results are pretty damn impressive.

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NASA/Joel Kowsky

And although it seems like a brilliant coincidence, the moment did in fact takes months of planning by the space agency.

The total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina on Monday evening.

And a partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe.

While the totality itself lasts just a few minutes, the vast coverage over 14 states meant that millions had the potential to see it with millions more travelling from the wider United States just to get a view.

Hopkinsville, Kentucky saw its population rise from 30,000 to over 100,000 in just a few days.

Meanwhile on the east coast, Madras, Oregon suffered an even greater strain as the small town which normally a population of just 7,000 also saw its numbers rise to well over 100,000 people.