Douple Solar Eclipses on Jupiter
Solar eclipses happen on Earth when our Moon blocks sunlight from reaching the Earth’s surface. This casts a shadow on our planet, and people in the shadow can see that the Sun has been covered by the Moon. Here is a view of a solar eclipse from space (picture taken by astronauts on the International Space Station): The large black blob on the surface is the Moon's shadow. People within the shadow region would see a solar eclipse when they look up at the Sun. What happens on planets which have multiple moons? Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, has 95 moons! 4 of these moons are large and can cast noticeable shadows on Jupiter. During one of my stargazing sessions at the Northumberland Telescope in Cambridge, I was lucky enough to see this happen. I saw, not one, but two shadows on Jupiter simultaneously! These were caused by the moons Europa and Ganymede passing between Jupiter and the Sun. I managed to take a (blurry) picture of this by placing my phone camera on t...