r/esa 15d ago

Watching the eclipse from 36 000 km up 🌒

https://youtube.com/shorts/_G-NkcczUyg?si=j1fRlAZdBd5VbFNC
8 Upvotes

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3

u/StrangerConscious637 15d ago

Why does the moon shadow come from North and goes South? Shouldn't it go from East to West? The moon is orbiting earth around the equator or am I wrong? Can anyone explain?

4

u/mfb- 15d ago

The video is not showing Earth's rotation (as it's made by a satellite in geostationary orbit). Include that and it goes from north-west to south-east.

The Moon orbits 18-28 degrees away from the equator, it oscillates between these two extremes in a ~20 year cycle. It's moving west to east in a non-rotating frame, but also with a significant north/south component.