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Solar Eclipse 2017: NASA's Moon Account On Twitter Just Blocked The Sun

This is too perfect 😂
Thomas Tamblyn
By 

Technology editor, HuffPost UK

NASA’s coverage of the total solar eclipse has been, it’s fair to say, excellent.

The space agency however took things to a whole new level when its official Moon account on Twitter decided to do this:

HA HA HA I’ve blocked the Sun! Make way for the Moon. #SolarEclipse2017 pic.twitter.com/nZCoqBlSTe

— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) August 21, 2017

That’s right.

It should come as absolutely no shock to you that this has gone down an absolute storm with the internet many of whom reached out to congratulate NASA.

pic.twitter.com/2VjkVS7uqm

— Twitter Government (@TwitterGov) August 21, 2017

pic.twitter.com/uNuoBgXkFb

— Sarah Wahl (@SarahEWahl) August 21, 2017

HAHAHAA pic.twitter.com/XlrJl3Du0j

— JC Gibbs (@LittleLadyCook) August 21, 2017

Someone's got jokes.

— PBS Digital Studios (@PBSDS) August 21, 2017

BRILLIANT! 👏👏👏

— Tom 🛴 (@ProSyndicate) August 21, 2017

It’s highly unlikely anyone’s going to top this so for the sake of everyone it’s probably best to just sit back and enjoy the eclipse itself.

This is the first nationwide total solar eclipse to take place across the United States since 1918.

What is a total solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse takes place when the Moon’s orbit places it directly between the Earth and the Sun.

This is different to a lunar eclipse which takes place when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon.

Mike Blake / Reuters

A solar eclipse creates two large shadows: The umbra and the penumbra.

As it reaches Earth the umbra will get smaller, creating a dark spot, this is the total solar eclipse. The penumbra on the other hand gets larger, covering huge swathes of the planet with a partial solar eclipse.

Here are some of the best pictures so far:

JASON REDMOND / Reuters
People watch the solar eclipse during the Lowell Observatory Solar Eclipse Experience at Madras High School in Madras, Oregon, U.S. August 21, 2017.
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
A multiple exposure image shows the solar eclipse as it creates the effect of a diamond ring at totality as seen from Clingmans Dome, which at 6,643 feet (2,025m) is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, U.S. August 21, 2017.
NASA NASA / Reuters
The umbra, the moon's shadow, over the United States from space is seen from the International Space Station from outer space, August 21, 2017.
Christian Hartmann / Reuters
The lighthouse of Eckmuehl is seen in silhouette at sunset during a partial solar eclipse, as the moon passes in front of the sun, in Penmarc'h, in Brittany, France, August 21, 2017.
Mike Blake / Reuters
Solar Eclipse in Depoe Bay, Oregon, U.S. August 21, 2017.
NASA
Mike Blake / Reuters
Solar Eclipse in Depoe Bay, Oregon, U.S. August 21, 2017.
Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images

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