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Caption for Image 1: Solar Eclipse as seen from Australia, December 04, 2002. Courtesy Jay Pasachoff and the Williams College Eclipse Expedition

High resolution of Image 1

Caption for Image 2: The Solar Eclipse image was combined with an image taken by the EIT (Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) instrument onboard the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft. SOHO Image Courtesy: NASA/ESA

High resolution of Image 2

Caption for Image 3: This image shows activity on the surface of the Sun on December 4, 2002. The image was taken by the EIT (Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) instrument onboard the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft. Courtesy: NASA/ESA

High resolution of Image 3

Caption for Image 4: The SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft uses special cameras to generate a continuous "eclipse view" of the Sun. This "manufactured" eclipse enables scientists to study the Sun's corona without waiting for an eclipse. These images were taken using the LASCO (Large-Angle and Spectrometric Chronograph) instrument on the SOHO spacecraft. The small disk represents the Sun. Courtesy: NASA/ESA

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December 04, 2002 - (date of web publication)

SOLAR ECLIPSE 2002

	Image 1		Image 2

On December 4, 2002, people in Australia received a rare 32-second celestial show as the Moon completely obscured the Sun creating a ring of light.

Solar eclipses provide experts an opportunity to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona. While people in Australia were observing the solar eclipse, the (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft also had its eye on the Sun. SOHO is equipped with special instruments that allow it to create a continuous artificial eclipse. From the unique vantage point in space, scientists have been able to monitor the explosions on the Sun that can impact us here on Earth. The total eclipse was the first to cover Australian shores since 1976. The next is not predicted for several more decades.

	Image 3		Image 4

During the course of December 4, 2002, SeaWiFS collected this imagery of Earth as it orbited the planet. Each swath, proceeding from east to west, was collected about a hundred minutes after the one before it. The timing of the central swath in the composite -- the one that passes over India near the top of the composite -- was such that it coincided with the passage of our moon's shadow across the southern Indian Ocean. This accounts for the dark stain near the center of the image. Courtesy: NASA

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