Lunar Lander Photographs a ‘Diamond Ring’ During Solar Eclipse on the Moon

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander captured breathtaking images of the so-called diamond ring effect as it observed a solar eclipse from its perch on the lunar surface early this morning. Blue Ghost got its first glimpse of the eclipse around 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time Friday, as Earth slowly blocked the lander’s view of the Sun. The solar eclipse on the Moon occurred simultaneously with a total lunar eclipse that made its way across U.S. skies Thursday night, turning the Moon a bloody red color from our terrestrial point of view. Firefly’s lunar lander touched down on the lunar surface on Sunday, March 2 at 3:34 a.m. ET. Blue Ghost alit in Mare Crisium, a large impact site that was later filled with basaltic lava. The company’s first mission to the Moon, aptly named “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” is packed with 10 NASA instruments designed to probe the lunar surface and gather data to support future human missions to the Moon as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. ... Read full article.