• → European Space Agency

      • Space for Europe
      • Space News
      • Space in Images
      • Space in Videos
    • About Us

      • Welcome to ESA
      • DG's News and Views
      • For Member State Delegations
      • Business with ESA
      • ESA Exhibitions
      • ESA Publications
      • Careers at ESA
    • Our Activities

      • Space News
      • Observing the Earth
      • Human Spaceflight
      • Launchers
      • Navigation
      • Space Science
      • Space Engineering
      • Operations
      • Technology
      • Telecommunications & Integrated Applications
    • For Public

    • For Media

    • For Educators

    • For Kids

    • ESA

    • Space Science

    • Our Universe
    • About Space Science
    • ESA's 'Cosmic Vision'
    • Science missions
    • Mission navigator
    • Target groups
    • For Media
    • For Scientists
    • For Kids
    • Multimedia
    • Science images
    • Science videos
    • Animations
    • Downloads
    • Sounds from space
    • Resources
    • Reference section
    • Services
    • FAQs
    • Glossary
    • Help
    • Portal terms of use
    • Comments
    • Follow us
    • RSS feeds
    • ESA Sci on Twitter
    • ESA Space Science Images on Flickr
    • ESA 3D on Flickr

    ESA > Our Activities > Space Science

    Eclipsed!

    Total eclipse seen from Africa, 2001
    22 June 2001

    While most observers across Southern Africa and Madagascar watched in awe, scientific teams were hard at work. While zoologists observed the effect on wildlife, solar scientists were able to compare their observations with images from SOHO's unique vantage point.

    If you didn't manage to catch the spectacle live you can watch the replay courtesy of BBC online.

    Uninterrupted view for SOHO

    SOHO/EIT image 21 June 2001-blue
    The moon never gets in SOHO's way

    Solar scientists were able to compare their observations with real-time images of the Sun taken by the ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft, in particular the LASCO and EIT instruments - for SOHO there are no nights and the moon never gets in the way!


    SOHO/EIT temperature map recorded by EIT on 21 June 2001
    A temperature map of the Sun's corona as recorded by the EIT instrument on SOHO

    EIT observes the storms in the Sun's atmosphere by ultraviolet light, which is blocked by the Earth's air. LASCO is a visible-light coronagraph that keeps the Sun perpetually eclipsed by masks in its telescopes. Viewing a huge volume of space, LASCO shows how features seen close to the Sun, by ground observers during the eclipse, relate to space weather further out.

    Soho image of the solar corona
    Perpetual eclipse for SOHO/LASCO

    Rate this

    Views

    Share

    • Currently 0 out of 5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    Rating: 0/5 (0 votes cast)

    Thank you for rating!

    You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!

    Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!

    10
    Tweet
    • Related news
      • African eclipse 21 June – SOHO keeps on watching
      • Related links
      • BBC Online Eclipse
      • ESA Science eclipse page
      • SOHO and 2001 eclipse
      • Hot shots from SOHO
      • Fred Espenak's lunar eclipse page

    Connect with us

    • RSS
    • Youtube
    • Twitter
    • Flickr
    • G+
    • Facebook
    • Livestream
    • Subscribe
    • App Store
    • ESA Science Twitter

    Follow ESA science

    • LATEST ARTICLES
    • · Proba-V opens its eyes
    • · First new Galileo satellite arrive…
    • · Next destination: space
    • · Leak repaired on International Spa…
    • · After Chelyabinsk: European expert…
    • FAQ

    • Jobs at ESA

    • Site Map

    • Contacts

    • Terms and conditions