14 DAY TRIAL // Astronomers operating the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have just released a new series of image, and a short video, showing a lunar transit event, where the Moon passes in front of the Sun as seen from the telescope's vantage point. The spacecraft was able to observe this relatively rare phenomenon at multiple wavelengths.
As a bonus, the SDO team also observed a solar prominence eruption on the surface of the Sun. The flare-up can be seen in the video above, towards the left side of the star. The transit and flare were observed starting at 8:31 am EST (1331 GMT), in Thursday, January 30, 2014.
Lunar transit events occur around 2 to 3 times per year, astronomers say. The latest one lasted for around 150 minutes, but experts at NASA are currently unsure as to when SDO gets the chance to see another. A series of planned orbital adjustments make these calculations very difficult.
An interesting thing to keep in mind when watching the lunar transit is the crispness of the natural satellite's horizon line. If Earth were to pass in front of the Sun, incoming light would be distorted by our atmosphere. This phenomenon does not occur when the Moon does the passing, since its exosphere is exceedingly thin.