Solar Eclipse Action

Eclipse Animations

During the August 21st solar eclipse I recorded 49 video clips, some in sequences suitable for time lapse animations. It took several days to organize, align, and process images before I could assemble the "movies" shown here. The individual frames of these animations are grayscale, with no added coloring or other enhancements.

The first animation below shows sunspot group 2671 being covered by the Moon. This is a 7-frame animation spanning 11 minutes, 55 seconds, from 1:36:22 to 1:48:17 EDT.

After eclipse maximum, the same sunspot group was uncovered as the Moon slipped away. The next 9-frame animation shows sunspot group 2671 reappearing over a 14 minute 3 second interval from 3:10:02 to 3:24:05 EDT.

Smaller sunspot 2672 was also uncovered during this 4-frame animation spanning 1 minute 53 seconds from 3:57:39 to 3:59:32 EDT.

Two modest prominences were also eclipsed. Next is a 3-frame animation of the smaller prominence being covered over a span of 1minute 3 seconds from 1:49:01 to 1:50:04 EDT.

The next 3-frame animation features a change of reference frame. Here the lunar limb is fixed, and the Sun moves from left to right relative to the Moon while a prominence is uncovered. This animation shows 1 minute 43 seconds of action from 2:59:28 to 3:01:11 EDT.

Finally, the Moon moved off the solar disc as recorded in the next 3-frame animation lasting only 43 seconds from 4:03:53 to 4:04:40 EDT. The predicted end of eclipse at my location was 4:05:19, so the last frame was recorded only 39 seconds before the Moon left the Sun.

Both Sun and Moon move west to east relative to the stars as seen from Earth. But the Moon moves faster than the Sun. When Moon and Sun align during a solar eclipse, we see the Moon passing the Sun, overtaking the Sun, moving west to east relative to the solar disc. We all know Earth orbits the Sun and the Moon orbits Earth, but we don't often get a chance to see this orbital motion displayed so obviously in only minutes of observation!