Perseverance rover watchs alien solar eclipse on Mars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 19, 2026
What a view.
On August 19, 2026, NASA's Perseverance rover captured an astonishing sight on the surface of Mars: a solar eclipse. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU) This celestial phenomenon, which occurs when one celestial body obscures a portion of another, is not exclusive to Earth. In fact, any planet with at least one moon in orbit could experience a solar eclipse.
On the day following Earth's own total solar eclipse, Perseverance turned its left Mastcam-Z camera towards the Martian sky and captured an image of the moon Phobos partially eclipsing the sun. This stunning photograph provides us with a unique opportunity to witness an alien solar eclipse, despite the fact that humans have yet to set foot on Mars.
Robotic explorers like Perseverance serve as a testament to our growing reach through the cosmos, allowing us to explore distant worlds and observe phenomena that would otherwise be impossible for us to witness directly.
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