The Sun Does Spectacular Disappearing Act : Big Pic
-
April 5, 2011 -- On April 2, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this rare view of the sun. Only twice a year, SDO enters an "eclipse season" when the Earth blocks its otherwise uninterrupted view of our nearest star. For up to 72 minutes a day, an ominous shadow can be seen to obscure the otherwise high-definition view of the solar surface.
WIDE ANGLE: Solar Mission to Protect Earth
SDO has spotted a lunar eclipse of the sun before, which created a sharp, defined shadow against the bright solar disk, but the Earth's shadow is different. Due to the terrestrial atmosphere, the shadow is less crisp. Some bright flaring regions can even be seen to penetrate deeper through the atmosphere.
-- by Ian O'Neill
Image credit: SDO/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
-
our sites
-
video
-
shop
-
stay connected
-
corporate
comments ( )