The composite image shows the solar corona, which is an aura of plasma that surrounds the sun and extends millions of miles into space. The blue part of the image shows the total eclipse from the ground, with the central pupil created by the bright sun covered by a comparatively dark moon. The red section was viewed from space, acquired by the sun-orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
The blue part of the image shows the total eclipse from the ground, with the central pupil created by the bright sun covered by a comparatively dark moon.
Surrounding the blocked solar disk is the tenuous corona of sun imaged in white light.
The red section was viewed from space, acquired by the sun-orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft.
The corona is easily visible from the ground only during an eclipse.
Normally, this corona is hard to track far from the sun, but the featured montage matches it to false-colored observations of the sun using space probes.
Images like this allow the study of the constantly changing magnetic activity both near and far from the sun - the same activity that ultimately drives Earth's auroras.
Last month, thousands of tourists and astronomy enthusiasts flocked to Indonesia to catch the country's first solar eclipse in nearly 33 years.
The eclipse, which took place on March 9, was also visible in parts of Australia and south-east Asia.
However, only some parts of the country got to see the sun totally eclipsed by the moon, which happened almost immediately after the sun rose.
Because the moon's shadow crossed the international date line, it appeared in the afternoon of the 8th in some regions, despite being visible from the morning of the 9th in others.
A solar eclipse happens when the moon casts a shadow on the Earth as it passes between the earth and the sun. At least twice a year, the orbits of the moon and Earth block the sun to cause a shadow on Earth.