While NASA might seem super serious and scientific — as they should since they send people into outer space — that doesn't mean they don't have a sense of humor. NASA had the Moon throwing shade at the Sun on Twitter during the 2017 total solar eclipse. A tweet from @NASAMoon to @NASASun, that quickly went viral, said: "HA HA HA I’ve blocked the Sun! Make way for the Moon." #SolarEclipse2017. The Sun responded: "uh, EXCUSE me?!?" As a kid, you likely imagined the Sun and the Moon having regular conversations, and you probably drew pictures of both of these celestial bodies, complete with human faces. Or, maybe that was just me.
NASA totally understands this, and while you probably grew out of your sun/moon conversations years ago (no judgement if you didn't) these hilarious tweets from NASA prove that even scientists have a sense of humor. The Sun is much bigger than the Moon, and the Moon hardly ever eclipses the Sun, so if you like to root for the underdog in life, the 2017 solar eclipse can have an extra layer of meaning for you as the new Moon's shadow passes in front of the Sun, plunging people in the path of totality into total darkness for a few minutes.
Here is the moon throwing shade at its much bigger, and brighter, neighbor.
And, the Sun quickly threw it right back.
It's kind of like one of those epic battle of the band club nights between Prince and Michael Jackson. Who will win? While the Moon will darken much of the United States today, the Sun will re-emerge, but not before the Moon gets a lot of attention.
"Sometimes when the Moon orbits Earth, it moves between the Sun and Earth. When this happens, the Moon blocks the light of the Sun from reaching Earth," NASA explained on its website. "This causes an eclipse of the Sun, or solar eclipse. During a solar eclipse, the Moon casts a shadow onto Earth."
The 2017 solar eclipse is happening right now. I hope you're able to see some of the magic, and when you start to feel all dark and twisty from the eclipse messing with your emotions (yes, this is a real thing), remember these tweets.
