Planes in front of the Sun and Moon

A gallery of images of planes passing in front of the solar or lunar disc.

By Iain Todd

Published: Tuesday, 23 January 2024 at 11:01 AM

Don’t you just hate it when you’re taking a beautiful photo of the Sun or the Moon and a plane passes in front of it at the moment you capture the image?

OK, so maybe a plane flying in front of the Sun or Moon isn’t such an inconvenience for an astrophotographer.

They do make for amazing aviation images after all, and many photographers plan carefully to capture photos of planes in front of the lunar or solar disc, even managing to discern the specific airline and flight number of the transiting aircraft.

Airliner Crossing the Nearly Full Moon by Ray Bonner, London, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 400D, Vivitar 500mm lens, x2 teleconverter

Whereas a transit of Mercury or a transit of Venus appears as a small black dot moving against the enormous, bright disc of the Sun, shots of aeroplanes against the Sun and Moon appear visually more spectacular (although certainly the sight of another planet passing in front of our host star is more mind-blowing).

There could be on average about 10,000 planes in the sky at any given moment, but that number might even be as high as 20,000.

So it’s no surprise that there are so many breathtaking images captured of planes passing in front of the Sun and Moon.

Holiday in the Sun by Alexandra Hart, Cheshire, UK. Equipment: Solarscope DSF-100, DMK41

A website like Flightradar24 can provide vital info about when and where a specific plane is going to pass overhead from any given location, and using this info astrophotographers are able to plan their transit shot. A bit of luck is often involved too!

When observing or photographing the Sun, safety is paramount, as doing either of these without specially made, certified equipment can cause serious damage to your eyesight or your equipment.

For more info on solar safety, read our guides on how to observe the Sun and how to photograph the Sun.

Snow Moon and Ryanair 737-800 by Mark Pelleymounter, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK. Equipment: Canon 7D, Tamron 150-600mm.

If you’re more interested in lunar photography, read our guide on how to photograph the Moon.

You might even want to go the next step and photograph the International Space Station.

Below is a selection of images of aeroplanes passing in front of the Sun and Moon (and one involving a seagull – can you spot it?) captured by astrophotographers and BBC Sky at Night Magazine readers.

If you’ve managed to capture a shot like this, we’d love to see it! Send us your images or share them with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.