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African eclipse 2001
Total eclipse seen from Africa, 2001
Eclipsed!
 
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.  
 
SOHO/EIT image 21 June 2001-blue
The moon never gets in SOHO's way
Uninterrupted view for SOHO
 
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
 
 

 
 
Related news
African eclipse 21 June – SOHO keeps on watching
Related links
BBC Online EclipseESA Science eclipse pageSOHO and 2001 eclipseHot shots from SOHOFred Espenak's lunar eclipse page
 
 
 
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