This is what a solar eclipse looks like from outer space

The highly anticipated total solar eclipse is just a few days away, and many are preparing to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event.

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Parts of the United States will be able to observe the Moon as it passes between the Sun and the Earth, bringing darkness to those in the path of totality. Other areas of the country will be able to watch a partial eclipse.

We have an idea of how the eclipse will play out on Earth, but what about how it appears to someone who is in space?

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This is what a solar eclipse looks like from outer space

There are a select few who have been able to witness this rare phenomenon from outside looking in, so to speak: the lucky ones who are able to travel to space. According to Terry Virts, retired NASA astronaut and International Space Station Commander, seeing a solar eclipse from space was a remarkable experience.

Speaking to USA Today, he told of his experience in 2015, when he witnessed a solar eclipse over the North Atlantic.

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“It was an eclipse that very few humans saw I think, but it was a really unique experience to look down and just see this big black circle kind of moving across the planet,” he told the media outlet.

He said he was glad that they were informed that an eclipse was about to take place, as it would have been disconcerting to see a black spot moving across the Earth. Not quite as dramatic as seeing the planet being plunged into darkness, but certainly a one-of-a-kind experience that mere mortals can only dream of beholding.

Virts acknowledged that it was one extraordinary opportunity to be able to observe such a unique event from a singular perspective.