Hubble image archive
Hubble Observes the Total Lunar Eclipse (Artist’s Illustration)
Taking advantage of a total lunar eclipse in January 2019, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have detected ozone in Earth's atmosphere. This method serves as a proxy for how they will observe Earth-like planets transiting in front of other stars in search of life.Ou...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2020
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2020-30-4715-image
Taking advantage of a total lunar eclipse in January 2019, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have detected ozone in Earth's atmosphere. This method serves as a proxy for how they will observe Earth-like planets transiting in front of other stars in search of life.
Our planet's perfect alignment with the Sun and Moon during a total lunar eclipse mimics the geometry of a transiting terrestrial planet with its star. In a new study, Hubble did not look at Earth directly. Instead, astronomers used the Moon as a mirror that reflects the sunlight transmitted through Earth's atmosphere, which was then captured by Hubble.
This is the first time a total lunar eclipse was captured at ultraviolet wavelengths and from a space telescope.
Credits
M. Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble), NASA, and ESAMore Images From This Period
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov