The sun's secret eclipse: Moon slides past star - but you had to be in space to see it

In the lower right corner the moon can be seen, having just passed between the observatory and the sun

 The lunar transit took two and a half hours beginning 8:31am yesterday
A time-lapse shows the event captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory
Transits happen two to three times per year and usually only last an hour
Minutes after it finished, a stunning flare erupted from the left side of the sun



The moon and the sun put on an incredible show yesterday, as the Earth’s satellite slid past the star’s fiery disk.
But you needed very good seats to see the lunar transit. In fact, it was only been visible space between 08:31 and 10:56 GMT.
Such transits happen two to three times each year. They usually last for a half hour or so, but this one lasted 2.5 hours – the longest ever recorded.
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 This stunning image not only show the moon crossing in front of the sun but also an impressive solar flare. The sun emitted the mid-level solar flare - classified as an M6.6 class flare not long after the solar transit

The event was captured by Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) as the moon passed between the spacecraft and the sun, giving the observatory a view of a partial solar eclipse.

 At 8:31 GMT yesterday, the moon moved between the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, and the sun, giving the observatory a view of a partial solar eclipse from space

The event was captured by Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) as the moon passed between the spacecraft and the sun, giving the observatory a view of a partial solar eclipse.

In the video, the moon’s path is an arc due to the combined orbital motions of the moon and SDO around the Earth.
A crisp horizon is on the moon is a reflection of the fact that the satellite has no atmosphere around it to distort the light from the sun.
Just minutes after the transit finished a moderate flare flare erupted from the left side of the star.
This ejected material from the surface of the sun, creating a prominence of ionised gas flowing along its magnetic field lines.
The sunspot is unlike to cause aurorae tonight, but it may bring minor radio interference.

When the next lunar transit will occur is as of yet unknown due to planned adjustments in SDO's orbit.

SDO orbits the Earth, staring at the sun constantly.  Launched on February 11, 2010, it is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun.

The spacecraft aims to find out how the sun's magnetic field is generated, structured and converted into violent solar events such as turbulent solar wind, solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

These immense clouds of material, when directed toward Earth, can cause large magnetic storms in our planet’s magnetosphere and upper atmosphere.

A rainbow of lunar transits as seen by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The observatory watches the sun in many different wavelengths of light, which are each in a different colour