Solar Eclipse 2011 Seen From Space On Japan's Hinode Satellite (VIDEO)

Many of us have watched a solar eclipse from Earth. But what about from space? This unique video from the Hinode satellite has captured January's annular solar eclipse, while the satellite orbits the Earth! According to NASA, when the moon moves between the Earth and the sun during an annular eclipse, the center of the sun is covered, leaving a bright ring known as an "annulus" around the edge.

Wired Science reports that the Hinode satellite is part of a Japanese mission to study the sun's magnetic fields and surface eruptions. It is armed with an optical, X-ray, and ultraviolet-light telescope.

Miss the solar eclipse? You can also check out some of our earth-based photos of this year's partial eclipse while waiting for the next one. Don't worry, it's an eclipse-heavy year, with three partial-solar and two total-lunar eclipses still to come. Unfortunately, most of us can only see them from an Earth's perspective.

WATCH the eclipse from space: