Eclipse from a Plane Over Antarctica (December 23, 2021)

Composite of images of an eclipse image taken by Petr Horálek from a plane over Antarctica, the inner (C2) and outer (C3) LASCO coronagraphs, and SDO/AIA, showing solar activity at the time of the total solar eclipse on December 4, 2021. The most prominent feature is the bright streamer in the southwest at about 4 o'clock. It is related to active regions AR 2898 and AR 2900, which had just rotated off the disc the day prior to the eclipse. The activity was visible even to the naked eye as very bright "pearls" in the inner solar corona.

From Earth, total solar eclipses are both rare and spectacular, and allow not only the public to see the Sun's corona, but also allow scientists to get a detailed look at the corona very close to the Sun.

C2 Image: JPG [323K], Hi-res TIFF [3.0M]	C3 Image: JPG [791K], Hi-res TIFF [3.0M]
Credit: NASA/ESA (SOHO), P. Horálek/Institute of Physics in Opava.

The images below show a wide-angle view of the eclipse captured from a plane at 40,000 feet above the Southern Ocean, revealing stars and planets in the narrow shadow of totality and an amazingly colored sky.

Eclipse from the Plane Image: PNG [1.6M], Hi-res TIFF [1.6M]	Eclipse from the Plane (Annotated) Image: PNG [1.6M], Hi-res TIFF [3.0M]
Credit: NASA/ESA (SOHO), P. Horálek/Institute of Physics in Opava.

More details (including movies) at https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=22916.

SOHO began its Weekly Pick several years ago after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display. Today, we use this area as 'Solar Picks' to highlight stories, events or activities but not as often as every week.