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SDO’s Version of an Eclipse

On the 8th anniversary of its launch in 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a total solar eclipse on Feb. 11, 2018 when Earth crossed in front of the sun. It lasted just 31 minutes.
PIA22259
Credits: NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory
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Description

On the 8th anniversary of its launch in 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured a total solar eclipse (Feb. 11, 2018) when Earth crossed in front of the sun. It lasted just 31 minutes. This cosmic event was not visible from Earth. Due to its geosynchronous orbit, there is a three-week period that occurs twice a year during which Earth briefly blocks SDO's view of the sun. The video clip, which shows the sun in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, covers about an hour and a half near the time of the eclipse.

Movies
PIA22259_Total_eclipse_304_big.mp4
PIA22259_Total_eclipse_304_sm.mp4

SDO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Its Atmosphere Imaging Assembly was built by the Lockheed Martin Solar Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), Palo Alto, California.