Some folks stare upward. Some orbiting satellites peer downward. Between those perspectives, 10 rare events have been frozen on film, revealing astonishing moments that blend planetary drama with human curiosity.

10 Rare Events: A Sky‑Watchers’ Treasure Trove

10 Jupiter’s Black Spot

Jupiter is famed for its Great Red Spot, a colossal storm that dwarfs Earth. Yet, in 2019, NASA recorded something far more subtle: a stark black dot crossing the planet’s swirling clouds.

The culprit was Io, one of Jupiter’s volcanic moons, roughly the size of our Moon. As Io slipped directly between the Sun and Jupiter, it cast a tiny shadow. Had Jupiter been Earth‑sized, the event would have resembled a total solar eclipse, but the gas giant’s immense girth meant only a small, crisp silhouette appeared.

The contrast of Io’s dark silhouette against Jupiter’s pastel hues produced a striking image that continues to captivate both scientists and sky‑enthusiasts alike.

9 The Star Of Bethlehem

December 2020 brought disappointment for many stargazers, as dense clouds obscured a spectacular planetary alignment. This “Star of Bethlehem” wasn’t a biblical miracle but a celestial dance between Jupiter and Saturn, which appeared unusually close to each other and to Earth.

An amateur astronomer, equipped with a modest telescope and camera, managed to capture the event in vivid detail. Despite the modest gear, the rings of Saturn were rendered with surprising clarity.

Adding to the wonder, the photographer also caught four of Jupiter’s moons marching in a straight line near the lower‑left corner, turning a simple alignment into a richer, multi‑planet tableau.

8 A Full‑Circle Rainbow

True full‑circle rainbows are a rarity because they demand an observer to be elevated above the ground. When the Sun sits behind you and rain falls ahead, a conventional bow forms; but to see a complete circle, you must be airborne.

In 2013, a helicopter over Perth provided the perfect perch. As the craft flew between a passing shower and a setting sun, a photographer aboard witnessed a perfect, unbroken circle of colors arcing overhead.

Even more extraordinary, a fainter, secondary full‑circle rainbow framed the primary one, creating a mesmerizing double‑halo that few have ever documented.

7 Rainbow Lightning

While full‑circle rainbows are scarce, pairing a rainbow with a bolt of lightning is even more elusive. At first glance the image seems simple—a rainbow with a flash—but the odds of capturing both phenomena simultaneously are astronomically low.

Rainbows need sunlight scattering through droplets, whereas lightning requires a charge separation between cloud and ground. The convergence of these conditions is exceptionally uncommon.

In late 2016, an Arizona photographer positioned himself with the Sun at his back, watching a storm. The sun’s angle produced a vivid rainbow, and moments later a charged cloud discharged a bright bolt, freezing a scene that quickly went viral.

6 The Moon’s Shadow And A Hurricane

In July 2019, the GOES‑West weather satellite trained its eyes on the Pacific, tracking the burgeoning Hurricane Barbara as it barreled toward the United States.

Amid the swirling storm, a dark, circular patch appeared directly beneath the cyclone. This was not another cloud formation but the Moon’s silhouette cast upon Earth during a solar eclipse.

The juxtaposition of a powerful hurricane with the ethereal moon shadow created a dramatic, almost surreal satellite photograph that highlighted the interplay of atmospheric and celestial events.

5 STEVE And NEOWISE (Plus Two Friends)

On a July night in 2020, Donna Lach set up near her Manitoba farm, hoping to capture two wonders: the aurora borealis and comet NEOWISE, a double‑tailed visitor that dazzled observers worldwide.

What she witnessed exceeded expectations. The greenish auroral curtains swirled overhead, while NEOWISE traced a bright arc across the sky. Adding intrigue, the mysterious auroral phenomenon known as STEVE—Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement—glowed in a vivid purple hue.

During her marathon session, a fleeting meteor streaked across the upper‑left corner, completing a quartet of celestial fireworks that few have ever documented in a single frame.

4 Starlink Photobombed NEOWISE

Comet NEOWISE, a once‑in‑a‑lifetime visitor, dazzled the night sky in 2020. Its twin tails and bright nucleus promised spectacular photographs for both amateurs and professionals.

Astrophotographer Daniel Lopez set up a time‑lapse to capture the comet’s brilliance. However, his perfect frame was marred by a series of bright white lines crossing the image.

Those streaks weren’t meteors or camera glitches—they were SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, cruising across the sky at the exact moment Lopez was shooting, unintentionally photobombing an otherwise flawless shot.

3 Six Celestial Phenomenon

In January 2015, astronomers at Chile’s Atacama Desert observatory embarked on an ambitious project: to combine multiple long‑exposure shots into a single image showcasing six distinct celestial events.

The resulting composite featured comet Lovejoy’s green glow at the center, the Seven Sisters star cluster and the red‑hued California Nebula to the right, a meteor blazing across the left side, and a low‑lying green airglow near the horizon caused by upper‑atmospheric oxygen.

Anchoring the scene, a thick blanket of low‑altitude clouds spread across the bottom, giving the picture depth and emphasizing the harmonious coexistence of these varied phenomena.

2 Two Devastating Seasons

The year 2020 delivered a stark reminder of nature’s fury in the United States: raging wildfires in the West and relentless hurricanes on the East Coast.

California’s infernos scorched a record‑breaking 3.6 million acres, while a barrage of Atlantic storms exhausted the naming list, underscoring the severity of the season.

NASA’s satellites captured a dramatic aerial view: a massive plume of smoke sweeping eastward across the continent, intersected by several hurricanes. Notably, Hurricane Paulette temporarily halted the smoke’s eastward progress, acting as a barrier before dissipating and allowing the ash cloud to finally reach the Atlantic.

1 The ISS Eclipse

During the August 2017 solar eclipse, photographer Joel Kowsky trekked to Banner, Wyoming, not merely to record the eclipse itself but to catch a fleeting celestial cameo.

He anticipated that the International Space Station would glide across the Sun’s disk at the exact moment of totality—a sight never before photographed.

Given the ISS’s modest size (about a football field) and its blistering orbital speed of 17,500 mph, Kowsky snapped an astonishing 1,500 frames per second. The resulting composite showcases the station in multiple positions, tracing its rapid passage across the Sun’s bright face.