Video: The Disappearing Sun

by Nancy Atkinson on September 14, 2011

It’s eclipse season for the Solar Dynamics Observatory! Twice a year near each equinox, the orbital dynamics lines up so that from SDO’s vantage point, the Earth passes between SDO and the Sun. Eclipse season lasts for about three weeks and each eclipse can last up to 72 minutes in the middle of an eclipse season. This current eclipse season started on September 11 and lasts until October 4. There’s no way to avoid the loss of images, the SDO team says, but the continuous contact with the ground station SDO’s orbit allows was judged to outweigh the loss of some images.

Tagged as: Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), sun

  • Plato Hagel

    “(From NASA:) A full-disk multiwavelength extreme ultraviolet image of the sun taken by SDO on March 30, 2010. False colors trace different gas temperatures. Reds are relatively cool (about 60,000 Kelvin, or 107,540 F); blues and greens are hotter (greater than 1 million Kelvin, or 1,799,540 F). Credit: NASA”- http://asymptotia.com/wp-images/2010/04/sdo_image_small.jpg

    Heioseismology is a very interesting subject from the SOHO perspective and fits nicely along side of SDO.

  • Anonymous

    Why does the limb of the moon appear blurry and “out of focus” in these images?

    • Anonymous

      Because that’s the Earth ;-)

      • Anonymous

        Doh! Thanks.

        /must read caption more carefully/

      • Anonymous

        Doh! Thanks.

        /must read caption more carefully/

  • Anonymous

    Why does the limb of the moon appear blurry and “out of focus” in these images?

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