Jupiter's moon Io casts a *really* big shadow.

Mr. Shadow

On September 12, NASA’s Juno spacecraft performed its twenty-second close flyby of Jupiter, careening down until it was just 8,000 kilometers (4,970 miles) above the gas giant's clouds

From that epic vantage point, Juno then snapped a stunning series of photos of the shadow of Jupiter's moon Io on the planet. In other words, it captured images of a solar eclipse on a planet besides Earth from space.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

New Perspective

The images of Jupiter's solar eclipse are breathtaking. It almost looks like someone drilled a hole through to the planet's center, or perhaps spilled a really, really big vat of Vantablack on Jupiter's surface.

But no, the images depict a natural phenomenon that happens regularly here on Earth — but thanks to Juno, we're able to appreciate it in a way never before possible.

Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Björn Jónsson

READ MORE: NASA's Juno Mission Checks Out Eclipse on Jupiter [Space.com]

More on Jupiter: A Giant Volcano on One of Jupiter’s Moons Is About to Erupt


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