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by NASA GSFC/Michael Benson - © Corbis. All Rights Reserved. - © NASA GSFC/Michael Benson/Kinetikon Pictures/Corbis
Eclipse of the Sun by the Earth
View of the solar corona and magnetic loops during an eclipse of the Sun by the Earth. In this image, the outer plasma atmosphere of the Sun, 200 times hotter than the Sun's surface, is occulted by our planet. The graduated reduction in our view is due to the variable density of Earth's atmosphere, which blocks ultraviolet light. Solar Dynamics Observatory, April 2, 2011 --- Image by © NASA GSFC/Michael Benson/Kinetikon Pictures/Corbis