NASA solar missions that will observe the moon as it passes in front of the sunĭue to its orbit in space, IRIS will witness the moon pass in front of the sun several times on Aug. Most of the imagery, with the exception of that from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, will not be available in real time, but will be shared publicly within a few days after the eclipse. Several NASA missions will capture observations of the sun from space during the 2017 eclipse. The word comes from chromo-or “color”-for the way this layer appears during eclipses: a thin, crimson ring around the edge of the sun, in contrast with the darkened moon and pearly-white corona.
It is only visible during total solar eclipses or with sophisticated telescopes. The chromosphere is a thin layer of the sun’s atmosphere that lies just below the corona, and about 3,100 miles (5,000 km) above the photosphere. During a natural total eclipse, however, lower parts of the corona can be seen in a way that still cannot be completely replicated by current technology.Įclipse observations are important for understanding why the sun’s atmosphere is 1 million degrees hotter than its surface, as well as the process by which the sun sends out a constant stream of solar material and radiation, which cause changes in the nature of space and may impact spacecraft, communications systems, and orbiting astronauts. To study the corona, scientists use special instruments called coronagraphs, which mimic eclipses by using solid disks to block the sun's face. When the moon blocks the sun’s face during a total solar eclipse, the corona is revealed as a pearly-white halo around the sun. It is made of tenuous gases and is normally hiding in plain sight, overwhelmed by the bright light of the sun’s photosphere. The corona is the outer atmosphere of the sun. The brochure identifies key features in the sun’s atmosphere that you may observe during totality. Our 2017 eclipse brochure has a composite image of the sun on the back. But during an eclipse, the moon blocks out that intense light, allowing scientists to observe the much dimmer solar atmosphere. Under normal circumstances, the bright yellow surface of the sun, called the photosphere, is the only feature we can observe. Eclipse: Who? What? When? Where? and How?Ī total solar eclipse presents a rare opportunity to observe the corona and chromosphere, the two outer most layers of the sun’s atmosphere.
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