Blue Ghost lander captures stunning ‘Diamond Ring’ effect during solar eclipse on the Moon

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander has provided a spectacular view of the solar eclipse from its position on the Moon’s surface, capturing the iconic “diamond ring” effect early this morning.

The lander first witnessed the celestial event around 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, as Earth gradually obscured the Sun. This solar eclipse coincided with a total lunar eclipse visible from Earth the night before, which painted the Moon a deep red color for viewers on our planet.

Blue Ghost successfully touched down on the Moon’s Mare Crisium region on March 2 at 3:34 a.m. ET. This milestone mission, called “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” is equipped with 10 NASA instruments aimed at exploring the Moon’s surface and gathering data to aid future lunar human missions under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

The lander’s first two images from the solar eclipse, released today, showcase a glowing ring of sunlight reflecting off the lander’s solar panels as the Sun slipped behind Earth’s shadow. To capture these images, Blue Ghost relied on its batteries for power, as the solar panels were no longer effective during the eclipse.

The eclipse lasted about five hours at Blue Ghost’s location, with a two-hour period of totality beginning at 2:18 a.m. ET. During this totality, the Sun was completely obscured, and the lander recorded the breathtaking diamond ring effect—a radiant ring of sunlight hovering above the dark lunar horizon.