A 310-mile (500km) shadow falls over Antarctica during a total solar eclipse on November 23, 2003, in this photo from the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite. The sun typically hangs low on the horizon during the southernmost continent's almost-summer months, so when the moon moved between the sun and the Earth its shadow fell in a long oval.
A 310-mile (500km) shadow falls over Antarctica during a total solar eclipse on Nov. 23, 2003, in this photo from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. The sun typically hangs low on the horizon during the southernmost continent’s almost-summer months, so when the moon moved between the sun and the Earth, its shadow fell in a long oval, like the long shadows of a early summer dawn. At the time this image was taken, the sun was at approximately 15 degrees above the horizon. The shadow’s long circular shape is the same pattern a flashlight casts an the floor when held at a similar angle.
Photo Credit: NASA/Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team.