14 DAY TRIAL // Officials from the European Space Agency (ESA) have just released this multi-wavelength image of the Sun, as seen during the latest solar eclipse on November 3. The photo provides an astounding view of the Sun and its atmosphere, which can be seen extending outwards into the surrounding space.
The data in this photo were collected both from space and on the ground, from Port Gentil in Gabon and Pokwero in Uganda. The totality of the eclipse (where the Sun was entirely blocked by the Moon) passed through Africa, but not Europe or the United States – where only a partial eclipse was visible.
The ESA Proba-2 minisatellite used its SWAP instrument to create the image that focuses on the Sun. Additional data were provided by the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), through its AIA and HMI instruments. The view lies at the very center of the image above.
The middle ring in the photo, which centers on the solar corona, was compiled from ground observations carried out in Africa. The outermost ring, also displaying parts of the corona, was imaged by the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft via its LASCO-C2 and CR coronagraph instruments.