ESA Proba-2: Eclipse images

ESA’s Proba-2 microsatellite experienced a conjunction of the spheres on Tuesday, as the Sun, Moon and Earth all lined up in front of it.

Click on the picture to view the transition

As people on the ground observed the 4 January partial solar eclipse, Proba-2 provided a privileged top-of-atmosphere view – at least briefly.

Shortly after the Moon partially blocked Proba-2’s view of the Sun, the Sun-watching satellite flew into Earth’s shadow. At that point – when the video seen here goes dark – the Sun, Moon, Earth and Proba-2 were all on the same line in space.

	Proba-2

“This is a notable event,” said Bogdan Nicula of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), who calculated where and when this double-eclipse would happen. “It is a nice exercise to model the orbit and relative positions of all three celestial bodies.”

The images making up this video were observed by Proba-2 with its SWAP imager – designed and operated by ROB – which operates at extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths to monitor the swirling layer of the solar corona just above the Sun’s surface.