Eclipse Imagery Along Path of Totality

As millions of people across the United States experienced a total eclipse as the umbra, or Moon’s shadow passed over them, only six people witnessed the umbra from space. Viewing the eclipse from orbit were NASA’s Randy Bresnik, Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson, ESA (European Space Agency’s) Paolo Nespoli, and Roscosmos’ Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy. The space station crossed the path of the eclipse three times as it orbited above the continental United States at an altitude of 250 miles. Credit: NASA As millions of people across the United States experienced a total eclipse as the umbra, or Moon’s shadow passed over them, only six people witnessed the umbra from space. Viewing the eclipse from orbit were NASA’s Randy Bresnik, Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson, ESA (European Space Agency’s) Paolo Nespoli, and Roscosmos’ Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy. The space station crossed the path of the eclipse three times as it orbited above the continental United States at an altitude of 250 miles. Credit: NASA This composite image, made from seven frames, shows the International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 near Banner, Wyoming. Onboard as part of Expedition 52 are: NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson, Jack Fischer, and Randy Bresnik; Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Paolo Nespoli. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky A ground-based image of the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017 (gray, middle ring), is superimposed over an image of the Sun’s atmosphere, called the corona (red, outermost ring), as seen by ESA (the European Space Agency) and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), which watches the Sun from space. At center is an image of the sun’s surface as seen by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths of light.During a total solar eclipse, ground-based telescopes can observe the lowest part of the solar corona in a way that can’t be done at any other time, as the dim corona is normally obscured by the bright light of the Sun. The structure in the ground-based corona image — defined by giant magnetic fields sweeping out from the Sun’s surface — can clearly be seen extending into the outer image from the space-based telescope. The more scientists understand about the lower corona, the more they can understand what causes the constant outward stream of material called the solar wind, as well as occasional giant eruptions called coronal mass ejections.Innermost image: NASA/SDOGround-based eclipse image: Jay Pasachoff, Ron Dantowitz, Christian Lockwood and the Williams College Eclipse Expedition/NSF/National GeographicOuter image: ESA/NASA/SOHO Phases of totality of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse observed from Salem, Oregon by the Williams College Expedition. Credit: Jay Pasachoff, Ron Dantowitz, Christian Lockwood, and the Williams College Eclipse Expedition/NSF/National Geographic This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over Madras, Oregon on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls The total phase of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse as seen from Casper, Wyoming. Credit: Keon Gibson A composite image of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse as seen from Casper, Wyoming. Credit: Keon Gibson A total solar eclipse is seen on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, from onboard a NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Gulfstream III 25,000 feet above the Oregon coast. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas This full-disk geocolor image from the GOES-16 satellite shows the shadow of the Moon covering a large portion of the northwestern United States on Aug. 21, 2017. Credit: NOAA/NASA On Aug. 21, 2017, many Americans saw day turn temporarily to night as the Moon passed between the Sun and the Earth to create a total solar eclipse. As people in the 70-mile-wide (110-kilometer-wide) path of totality looked up and saw blinding light replaced by a dark circle and the Sun’s wispy corona, NASA Earth-observing satellites captured imagery of the Moon’s shadow as it raced eastward over the continental United States.The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on the Terra satellite captured this mosaic comprised of data collected at three different times. The right third of the image shows the eastern United States at about 12:10 p.m. Eastern Time (16:10 Universal Time), before the eclipse had begun. The middle part was captured at about 12:50 p.m. Central Time (17:50 Universal Time), when the eclipse was in progress in the center of the country. The left third of the image was collected at about 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (19:30 Universal Time), after the eclipse had ended. Terra has a polar orbit and the MODIS sensor collects imagery in swaths that are roughly 1,450 miles (2,330 kilometers) wide.Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens and Jesse Allen, using MODIS data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) and EOSDIS/Rapid Response As millions of Americans watched the total solar eclipse that crossed the contiguous United States on Aug. 21, 2017, the international Hinode solar observation satellite captured its own images of the awe-inspiring natural phenomenon as it orbited the planet.Hinode is a joint endeavor by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the European Space Agency, the United Kingdom Space Agency and NASA. Credit: JAXA/NASA/SAO/NAOJ The Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse as seen by the people attending the viewing event at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem, Oregon. Credit: NASA/Dominic Hart The Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse douses Umatilla National Forest in shadow, rimming the horizon with a 360 degree sunset. Credit: NASA/Mara Johnson-Groh The solar corona shines bright high above a juniper tree in Umatilla National Forest during the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse. Credit: NASA/Mara Johnson-Groh Employees and visitors at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory stopped to watch the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017. Credit: NASA/Josh Krohn A view of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse from Madras, Oregon. Credit: NASA/Gopalswamy The reddish chromosphere is visible in this view of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse from Madras, Oregon. Credit: NASA/Gopalswamy The diamond ring signaling the end of totality is visible in this image of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse from Madras, Oregon. Credit: NASA/Gopalswamy A radiant “diamond” of sunlight is seen in the moments after totality during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017. The effect is seen in the few seconds just before and after totality when there is a single point of sunlight shining through a valley on the Moon. In this image, from Jefferson City, Missouri, the Sun’s corona creates a brilliant halo and forms a ring of light around the edge of the moon.A total solar eclipse swept across a 70-mile-wide path of the contiguous United States for the first time in 99 years. During the rare celestial event, the moon’s shadow moved from west to east creating a diagonal path of totality in 14 states from Oregon to South Carolina. Spectators along the path of totality experienced more than two minutes of twilight in the middle of the day. Observers in the remainder of North America, and parts of South America, Africa and Europe saw a partial solar eclipse where the Moon covered part of the Sun’s disk.Credit: NASA/Rami Daud, Alcyon Technical ServicesCredit: "Total Solar Eclipse 2012 Education Resources." Total Solar Eclipse 2012 Education Resources. Astronomical Association of Queensland; Science Teachers Association of Queensland, 2012. Web The Baily’s Beads effect is seen as the Moon makes its final move over the Sun during the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, above Madras, Oregon. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani Related pages

People watch a partial eclipse in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Mar. 20, 2015. Credit: Robin Cordiner People use solar viewing glasses to observe the Sun in New York City on Jul, 22, 2012. Credit: Robin Thornton A boy wearing protective viewing glasses watches a partial solar eclipse from Arlington, Virginia, in 2014. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls A family uses solar viewing glasses to watch the Sun. Credit: Stephen Ramsden Children use solar viewing glasses to watch the Sun. Binoculars and telescopes can ONLY be used to look at the Sun or watch an eclipse when used with solar filters specially designed for that purpose. Wearing solar viewing glasses will not protect your eyes when used with binoculars or telescopes – you must have an appropriate filter. Credit: Steele Hill People use a telescope to project an image of the Sun in preparation for the annular solar eclipse of Sept. 1, 2016, in Katavi National Park in Tanzania. Binoculars and telescopes can ONLY be used to look at the Sun or watch an eclipse when used with solar filters specially designed for that purpose. Wearing solar viewing glasses will not protect your eyes when used with binoculars or telescopes – you must have an appropriate filter. Credit: NASA/Ryan Milligan A projected image of a partial eclipse. Credit: NASA/Ryan Milligan People prepare to watch the annular solar eclipse of Sept. 1, 2016, in Katavi National Park in Tanzania. Credit: NASA/Ryan Milligan Watching the total solar eclipse of Jul. 22, 2009, in China. Credit: NASA/Ryan Milligan Watching the total solar eclipse of Mar. 29, 2006, in Antalya, Turkey. Binoculars and telescopes can ONLY be used to look at the Sun or watch an eclipse when used with solar filters specially designed for that purpose. Wearing solar viewing glasses will not protect your eyes when used with binoculars or telescopes – you must have an appropriate filter. Credit: NASA/Ryan Milligan Watching the total solar eclipse of Aug. 1, 2008, in Novosibirsk, Russia. Credit: NASA/Ryan Milligan A NASA Goddard team of scientists, led by Nat Gopalswamy, traveled to Madras, Oregon, to conduct a test of a polarization camera during the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse. Credit: Nick Farrar-Foley Girl tests out solar viewing glasses at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, TN, on Aug. 20, 2017. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Genna Duberstein On Aug. 21, 2017, a woman watches the total solar eclipse in Nashville, TN. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Genna Duberstein Local Seabreeze resident enjoys the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Credit: NASA/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith While wearing approved solar glasses, beachgoers stop to watch the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Credit: NASA/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Rehoboth Beach vacationer views the solar eclipse through his handmade cereal box eclipse projector. Credit: NASA/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Donning approved solar eclipse glasses, this Rehoboth Beach group relaxes and gazes at the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse. Credit: NASA/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Group takes time out of their vacation to view the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse from the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. Credit: NASA/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Delaware beach locals pause to view the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse event on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. Credit: NASA/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Rehoboth Beach tourists get an extra special bonus on their vacation – the Aug, 21, 2017, solar eclipse. Credit: NASA/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Delaware beach sightseers get a view of the Aug, 21, 2017, solar eclipse. Credit: NASA/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Eclipse watcher during the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse in Carbondale, IL. Credit: Sean Simmons Eclipse watcher in Saluki Stadium, Carbondale, IL, during the Aug. 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. Credit: Sean Simmons Light filtering through the leaves of trees in Madras, Oregon, creates images of the partial solar eclipse. Credit: Nick Farrar-Foley Light filtering through a colander projects images of the partial solar eclipse in Madras, Oregon. Credit: Nick Farrar-Foley During the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse in Carbondale, IL, an eclipse watcher uses the small gaps in between their fingers to project several partial solar eclipse images on the ground. Credit: Sean Simmons During the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse in Carbondale, IL, an eclipse watcher allows light to filter through a colander to project many partial solar eclipse images on the ground. Credit: Joy Ng Related pages