Satellites have captured unimaginable views of the Feb. 17 annular photo voltaic eclipse because the moon’s shadow swept throughout a distant area of Antarctica, whereas on the identical time a U.S. climate satellite tv for pc captured the silhouette of Earth’s satellite tv for pc because it traversed throughout the face of the solar.
An annular photo voltaic eclipse takes place when the moon — at a distant level in its elliptical orbit — passes between the solar and Earth, blocking the overwhelming majority of its floor whereas leaving a skinny sliver of its outer disk seen to seem as a burning halo within the sky.
Fortunately for us in hotter areas, a variety of satellites were able to witness the enormity of the event from orbit, including spacecraft from the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat), which captured imagery of the moon’s shadow (above) as it swept over the frozen continent.
The moon’s immense shadow was also spied by South Korea’s GEO-KOMPSAT-2A weather satellite from its perch 22,370 miles (36,000 km) above Earth in geostationary orbit, close to the shadowy line of the night-day terminator.
NOAA’s GOES-19 satellite captured a different perspective as it stared directly into the sun using its Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) instrument from high above Earth. Bright looping structures can be seen playing throughout the sun’s atmosphere in the ultraviolet realm of the electromagnetic spectrum as plasma is shaped by our star’s strong magnetic field while the moon’s silhouette roams left-to-right across the solar disk.
Solar eclipses don’t occur in isolation, but rather as the opening — or sometimes closing — act of a two-part eclipse “season”. The second half of this current orbital ballet will occur on March 3, when our planet slips between the sun and moon, bathing the latter with sunlight that has been filtered and scattered by Earth’s atmosphere to give rise to a dramatic “blood moon” total lunar eclipse.
Totality will be visible to approximately 2.5 billion people spread throughout Australia, New Zealand, East Asia, parts of the Pacific and North America, the latter of which will get to see the moon slip into the deepest part of Earth’s shadow as it slips below the horizon at sunrise.
Then, on Aug. 12, stargazers in Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, Spain and Russia will be treated to a dramatic total solar eclipse — where the moon briefly hides the entirety of the solar surface in the path of totality — while hundreds of millions elsewhere will witness a lesser partial eclipse.
Hoping to see the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse for yourself? Then be sure to read our top tips and travel advice for planning an eclipse trip along with our picks of the best solar viewing gear and guidance on how to check and safely use eclipse glasses.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your eclipse photography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
