March 5, 2017 - Solar eclipse over the South Atlantic Ocean (afternoon overpass)

Solar eclipse over the South Atlantic Ocean (afternoon overpass)

On February 26, 2017, an annular eclipse of the sun was visible along a narrow path that stretched from the southern tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean and into southern Africa. Those lucky enough to find themselves in the eclipse’s path saw a fiery ring in the sky. From space, the shadow of the moon falling on Earth caused the surface of the planet as well as the clouds to appear yellowish brown.

During an annular eclipse, the moon passes between the sun and Earth, blocking sunlight and casting a shadow on Earth. But the moon is too far from Earth to completely obscure the sun, so the sun peeks out around the moon. Between two to four solar eclipses occur each year. Later this year, on Aug. 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse – in which the moon completely obscures the sun – will cross the United States, from Oregon to South Carolina. Visit eclipse2017.nasa.gov to learn more.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of the moon’s shadow over the South Atlantic Ocean at approximately 1555 UTC (12:55 local time) on February 26.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/26/2017
Resolutions: 1km (1.9 MB), 250m (15.1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC