The first and only solar eclipse of 2020 occurred on December 14, the path to perfection stretching from the equatorial Pacific to the South Atlantic and through southern Argentina and Chile.
December 14, 2020
Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on Geostationary Operation Parental Environmental Satellite 16 (GOES-16) obtained images of the moon’s shadow as it crossed the Earth’s surface. GOES-16 is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); NASA Assists in the development and launch of GOES series of satellites.
December 14, 2020
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the earth and the sun, thereby completely or partially obscuring the image of the sun for the viewer on the earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the apparent diameter of the moon is larger than that of the sun, which blocks direct sunlight, turning the day into darkness. Perfection occurs in a narrow path toward the Earth’s surface, with partial solar eclipses appearing in the surrounding region thousands of kilometers wide.
The video above contains 72 images acquired every 10 minutes on December 14 from 0600 to 1800 Universal Time (3am to 3pm).
16 images courtesy of NOAA and the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) and using NASA / GSFC umbrella calculations, NASA Earth Observer video and images by Joshua Stevens.
