NASA - Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) patch.
Feb. 13, 2018
On Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, saw a total solar eclipse in space when Earth crossed its view of the Sun. Also known as a transit, Earth’s passage was brief, lasting from 2:10 a.m. to 2:41 a.m. EST and covering the entire face of the Sun.
Animation above: On Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, NASA’s SDO saw a total solar eclipse in space. These images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, a type of light that is typically invisible to our eyes, but is colorized here in purple. Animation Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO/Joy Ng.
So marks the beginning of SDO’s eclipse season — as well as the mission’s eighth launch anniversary. SDO’s eclipse season is a three-week period that comes twice a year near the equinoxes during which Earth blocks SDO’s view of the Sun for a short while each day. The eclipses are fairly short near the beginning and end of the season but ramp up to 72 minutes in the middle.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO. Image Credits: NASA/GSFC
Most spacecraft observing the Sun from an orbit around Earth have to contend with such eclipses. SDO’s orbit is designed to maximize the amount of data the spacecraft can send back to Earth, but twice a year Earth gets in the way of the spacecraft’s view. The spring eclipse season began on Feb. 10 with a partial eclipse and concludes March 5, 2018.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): http://nasa.gov/sdo and http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/main/index.html
Animation (mentioned), Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Rob Garner/Goddard Space Flight Center, by Lina Tran.
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