On February 10, Japan’s KAGUYA (a.k.a. SELENE) lunar explorer shot video of the Earth as it passed between the Sun and the Moon. The probe’s high-definition cameras captured a rare view of the so-called “diamond ring effect” seen from the Moon. The phenomenon is usually only ever observed during total solar eclipses on Earth, just as the Sun emerges from behind the Moon.

+ Video

This video shows the Sun emerging from behind the Earth, just as they are rising over the lunar horizon. The bead of sunlight peeking over the edge of the planet looks like a diamond on a precious ring.

[Link: JAXA]