{"id":779993,"date":"2024-04-01T18:12:50","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T23:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=779993"},"modified":"2024-04-01T18:12:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T23:12:50","slug":"new-eclipse-watch-tool-shows-eclipses-from-space-any-time-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=779993","title":{"rendered":"New \u2018Eclipse Watch\u2019 Tool Shows Eclipses from Space Any Time"},"content":{"rendered":"


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4 min read<\/p>\n

New \u2018Eclipse Watch\u2019 Tool Shows Eclipses from Space Any Time<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Do you wish you could see a total solar eclipse every day? With a new online tool called Eclipse Watch, you can observe the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere, or corona, in real time with eclipse-like images from space as we count down to the next total solar eclipse on Earth.<\/p>\n

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An eclipse-like image captured by the LASCO instrument on the SOHO spacecraft includes a picture of the Moon added for scale. To see the latest image, visit <\/div>\n
NASA\/Eclipse Watch<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The new Helioviewer Eclipse Watch data visualization tool displays images captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) mission stationed one million miles from Earth. Each time you refresh the page, you can see the latest image from the spacecraft. These images showcase some of the features of the Sun that you may also be able to see from the ground on Earth when the Moon completely covers the Sun during the total solar eclipse.<\/p>\n

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This map shows the path of totality and partial contours crossing the U.S. for the total solar eclipse occurring on April 8, 2024.<\/div>\n
NASA\u2019s Scientific Visualization Studio<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. This celestial event reveals the extended atmosphere of the Sun, which is normally obscured from view by bright sunlight. Hot gas streaming from the surface of the Sun into interplanetary space can be observed during this time.<\/p>\n

To study the Sun\u2019s extended atmosphere when a total solar eclipse isn\u2019t happening, scientists can use special telescopes called coronagraphs. These instruments create an artificial eclipse by using a round disk to block out the light from the Sun (the same way the Moon does during an eclipse) and reveal parts of the Sun\u2019s atmosphere that are normally too dim to see.<\/p>\n

The Helioviewer Eclipse Watch provides eclipse-like images that are captured over a hundred times each day by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) instrument on the SOHO spacecraft. LASCO observes the Sun\u2019s corona and can identify clouds of material called coronal mass ejections that erupt from the Sun. These images offer a glimpse of what you could witness during the historic celestial event on April 8. LASCO\u2019s disk obscures a larger area than the Moon will block during the total solar eclipse, as indicated by the black circular area in the Eclipse Watch tool. A picture of the Moon is overlaid on the image for scale. This means that during the total eclipse on Earth you will get to see even more of the Sun\u2019s extended atmosphere than LASCO captures.<\/p>\n

SOHO launched in 1995 to study our star, from the Sun\u2019s deep core to its outer corona. LASCO is one of 12 instruments on SOHO used to study different solar regions and a constant stream of particles and energy from the Sun called the solar wind. Thousands of comets that pass close to the Sun \u2013 called sungrazing comets \u2013 have also been discovered in SOHO images.<\/p>\n

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