Proba-2 soaks up three solar eclipses

Proba-2 soaks up three solar eclipses ESA's Sun-watching Proba-2 satellite experienced three partial solar eclipses last night while lucky observers watching from northern Australia were treated to a total solar eclipse. During a total solar eclipse, the Moon moves in front of the Sun as seen from Earth, their alignment and separation such that the much closer Moon appears large enough to temporarily block out the light from the much more distant Sun. Since Proba-2 orbits the Earth about 14.5 times per day, it can dip in and out of the Moon's shadow around the time of a solar eclipse. The constant change in viewing angle of Proba-2 meant that the satellite passed through the Moon's shadow a total of three times during the eclipse yesterday, as shown in the video presented here. As the Sun was never completely covered up from Proba-2's vantage point, each eclipse was only partial. Proba-2 sees three partial solar eclipses - Download movie The video was produced from images taken by Proba-2's SWAP imager, which snaps the Sun in ultraviolet light. Stormy active regions on the Sun's face are revealed, including sunspots, the roots of some large solar flares and coronal mass ejections that are occasionally directed towards Earth.