Proba-2 partial eclipses, 26 February 2017

On 26 February, an annular solar eclipse took place over South America and Africa.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, totally or partially blocking the Sun from Earth’s point of view. In an annular eclipse, the apparent diameter of the Moon appears smaller than the Sun’s diameter, such that a ring of the solar disc remains visible.

ESA’s Proba-2 satellite observed a series of partial eclipses from space. In fact, the Moon crossed the satellite’s field of view four times, three times passing in front of the Sun.

The video was produced from images taken by Proba-2’s SWAP imager, which snaps the Sun in ultraviolet light to capture the turbulent surface of the Sun and its swirling corona.