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Solar Eclipses on Earth and Beyond — Captivating Videos from NASA HEAT

In preparation for the 2023 annular and 2024 total solar eclipses, the NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) partnered with Neptune Studios to create a total of 8 eclipse-related videos as part of the MinuteEarth (ME) and MinutePhysics (MP) video series. These short, illustrated stories introduce viewers to eclipse science, history and culture, orbital mechanics, weird animal behaviors, and eclipses out of this world and have accumulated more than 4 million views. A virtual lab from MinuteEarth called Eclipse Explorer is also a wonderful opportunity for learners of all ages to see solar eclipses from other planets in our solar system.

A couple of comments from viewers:

"Weird Things Animals Do During Eclipses" Video – "I was in an Oregon forest during totality, and wolves all around us miles away started howling. It was a transcendent experience." (4.8K likes)

"The LAST Eclipse in History" Video – "I would argue that now IS the golden age for solar eclipses! 52% annular vs 48% full implies to me that the average distance of eclipses (or the Earth-to-moon vs Earth-to-sun distance ratio) is just right for the moon to cover the sun but not the corona. The moon being closer would of course give us more full eclipses, but a moon too close that it also blocks hide the corona would also be disappointing." (1.7K likes)

Watch:

  1. How Eclipses Proved That the Earth is Slowing Down (ME: 189K, Sep. 2023) (4:08)
  2. Eclipses Used to Be Terrifying (ME: 743K, Oct. 2023) (4:45)
  3. The Last Eclipse in History (MP: 986K, Dec. 2023) (4:30)
  4. Weird Things Animals Do During Eclipses (ME 708K, Feb. 2024) (4:35)
  5. Why Aren’t There Eclipses Every Month? (MP: 452K, Mar 2024) (2:22)
  6. Why Do Eclipses Travel WEST to EAST? (MP: 266K, April 2024) (3:58)
  7. Why Does the North Get More Total Solar Eclipses? (ME: 317K, April 2024) (3:53)
  8. Which Planet Has the Best Eclipse? (MP 477K, April 2024) (8:40)
  9. Eclipse Explorer (MinuteLabs.io, April 2024)

The NASA HEAT project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21K1560 and is part of NASA's Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about NASA HEAT: https://science.nasa.gov/science-activation-team/nasa-heliophysics-education-activation-team

Cartoon illustration of three birds surrounded by trees in a woodland scene in front of a total solar eclipse.
Screen capture from the video, "Weird Things Animals Do During Eclipses"
MinuteEarth

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Last Updated
May 29, 2024
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NASA Science Editorial Team

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