This animation of the Moon’s shadow across North America simulates the view from a spacecraft 125 miles high chasing the shadow! On April 8, 2024, everyone inside the shadow will experience the breathtaking sight of the Sun’s corona during the total solar eclipse. Totality races from Mazatlan to Newfoundland.

The crossed spikes that you see in some images of stars are not actually parts of the stars. They are imaging artifacts that are created by the telescope itself and are called diffraction spikes. Certain telescopes have a large primary mirror that focuses the incoming beam of light onto a secondary mirror or a sensor that is held over the primary mirror. The secondary mirror diverts the light out of the telescope so it can be seen or further processed. Or, alternately, a sensor held above the primary mirror converts the image to an electrical signal that is delivered to a computer.