Solar Eclipse over Antarctica chosen as NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)

  • Debora Lančová
  • 05.12.2021
There was a total Solar eclipse on Saturday, December 4th, 2021, the only one this year and the only until April 2023. The total eclipse was visible only from the farthest end of the world – in Antarctica.
Petr’s journey were supported by the Institute of Physics in Opava and by grant Development of Science and Research at the Silesian University in Opava, No. CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_054/0014696 financed by OP RDE.
To observe the eclipse from Antarctica was extremely complicated and thus expensive, but it was also observable from the Weddell Sea and from the South Orkney Islands, but the weather forecast was not good for observing. The other option were the Eclipse Flights organized by the astronomers from IAU. And Petr Horálek, a Czech photographer and astronomer from the Institute of Physics in Opava, was on board of one of these flights. He brought home an amazing photo of the total eclipse, from 12 thousand meters above the ground, which NASA has chosen as it’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).