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A rare celestial transit: NASA satellite catches impressive double eclipse- See pic!
In the SDO data, one can tell Earth and the moon`s shadows apart by their edges.
New Delhi: NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) has captured a remarkable images of double solar eclipse from the space. On Friday, SDO saw that both the Earth and the moon completely eclipsed the sun, briefly blocking its view.
In the footage below the Earth can be seen passing the Sun first. As the Earth eclipse ends, SDO captures the final stages of lunar transit as well.
This particular geometry of Earth, the moon and the sun had effects on viewing down on the ground as well. It resulted in a simultaneous eclipse visible from southern Africa.
The eclipse was what is known as a ring of fire, or annular, eclipse, which is similar to a total solar eclipse, except it happens when the moon is at a point in its orbit farther from Earth than average.
The increased distance causes the moon’s apparent size to be smaller, so it does not block the entire face of the sun. This leaves a bright, narrow ring of the solar surface visible, looking much like a ring of fire, NASA researchers explained. In the SDO data, one can tell Earth and the moon’s shadows apart by their edges.
Check out the amazing footage of rare double eclipse here: