NASA has captured footage of a solar eclipse with remarkable resolution.
The close-up shots were captured by a space probe on a 20-year mission to study the Sun and its effects on Earth.
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The 35-minute sequence was captured by Solar Dynamics Observatory, a three-ton spacecraft orbiting the Earth.
The SDO was launched in 2010 as part of Nasa’s mission to study the relationship between the Sun and Earth at close range.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth.
With advanced imaging technology, the SDO captured the awe-inspiring shots of the most recent partial solar eclipse.
The Sun is exactly 400 times bigger than the Moon but it’s also 400 times further away from the Earth.
These are the perfect ratios for the moon to completely eclipse the sun, provided the alignment on the Earth’s surface is exactly right.
The images captured by the SDO show a partial solar eclipse.
“At the peak of the eclipse, the Moon covered 67% of the sun, and lunar mountains were backlit by solar fire,” SpaceWeather.com wrote.
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One of the areas of study Nasa is using the SDO for is the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle.
During the solar cycle, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip causing an increase in solar flares.
An SDO blog wrote “Our Sun is an extremely active star. Solar activity expels radiation and atomic particles from the Sun during solar flares and coronal mass ejections.”
The Sun has just entered a period of heightened solar activity, and scientists are monitoring how our technologies could be affected.
The SDO has the mandate to answer what is driving the solar cycle and six other specific questions about the Earth-Sun system.
