Also Visit the HAO Eclipse Archive
The High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research has built an archive of images of solar eclipses which are deemed to be of sufficient quality for research.
The data begin from 1869, extend to the present day and are from a diverse range of sources, but have been converted to a standard format. The data up to 1969 were all compiled by Jack Eddy between 1969 and 1971. Original plates were painstakingly photographed by Eddy and associates at HAO onto plates currently archived at HAO.
HAO will maintain this archive for the community's use and comments are welcome. In particular, we encourage others to submit to us any data which might be included in this eclipse archive.
In the sections below, representative images are shown (click on them to enlarge). Use the links provided after each image to download various versions of that image. 'FULLRES' versions are at the largest dimensions available for that image.
Newkirk White Light Coronal Camera
These images were obtained with the Newkirk White Light Coronal Camera (Newkirk WLCC), a camera system developed by Gordon A. Newkirk, Jr. This specialized instrument photographs the corona in red light, 6500 A -- through a radially graded filter that suppresses the bright inner corona in order to show the much fainter streamers of the outer corona in the same photograph.
FULLRES GIF (512x512)
Scanned photo of composite with X-ray image
This eclipse was very near the solar maximum that occurred in late 1979.
FULLRES GIF (2058x1418)
FULLRES TIFF (2058x1418)
Comparison of 1980 and 1994 eclipses
More info
This eclipse occurred prior to the solar maximum in late 1989.
FULLRES GIF (1322x881)
FULLRES TIFF (1322x881)
This eclipse occurred slightly after the solar maximum in late 1989.
FULLRES GIF (1860x1500)
FULLRES TIFF (1860x1500)
More info and addition images
This eclipse was very near the solar minimum that occurred in early 1996.
FULLRES GIF (2000x1345)
FULLRES TIFF (2000x1345)
Comparison of 1980 and 1994 eclipses
Composite of WLCC and Yohkoh images of 1994 eclipse.
FULLRES GIF (1280x861)
If you use the images above, please credit HAO and Rhodes College for the 1980 and 1991 eclipse images, and HAO for the 1966, 1970, 1973, 1981, 1983, 1988 and 1994 eclipse images. Credit should be something similar to 19?? eclipse image courtesy Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, and High Altitude Observatory (HAO), University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, Colorado. UCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. -or- 19?? eclipse image courtesy High Altitude Observatory (HAO), University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, Colorado. UCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
POISE Instrument
The POISE has an aperture of 80 mm, an effective focal length of 1000 mm, and a field of view of 6.5X6.5 solar radii on a Loral CCD with 2034X2034 pixels. The pixel size is 3.1X3.1 arc seconds. The spectral band of the image is set by an Andover filter with a central wavelength of 620 nm and a bandwidth of 10 nm. The CCD camera is a Pixel Vision Spectra Video camera with 16 bit digitization, an electron well depth of 95,000 electrons, and a read noise 20 electrons. The polarization analyzer contains fixed linear and quarter wave polarizers together with a Meadowlark Optics liquid crystal variable retarder. The POISE98 images can be processed numerically to remove the radial gradient due to the rapid outward decrease in the coronal density. This numerical 'flattening' replaces the radially graded optical filter used in the photographic Newkirk camera which was used in previous HAO eclipse expeditions.
Link: Addition information and complete POISE 1998 eclipse dataset
.MLSO Observations
MLSO was observing the day of the 23 November, 2003 eclipse. This is the Mk4 average image of the white light corona for that day that
can be used for comparison with eclipse images for that day.
FULLRES GIF (512x512)
Other Eclipse Websites
- Williams College Solar Eclipse Expeditions - Info and images of eclipses from 1959 to the present.
- NASA Eclipse Website - Lots of information about past and future solar eclipses.
Additional 1991 Eclipse Information
The total solar eclipse of 1991 July 11, was photographed from Mauna Loa, Hawaii, by a research team from the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado and Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennesee. NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
The photograph of the solar corona was taken with a camera system developed by Gordon A. Newkirk, Jr. This specialized instrument photographs the corona in red light, 6500 A -- through a radially graded filter that suppresses the bright inner corona in order to show the much fainter streamers of the outer corona in the same photograph.
Image sizes and formats for download (unless otherwise noted, the links below will download various sizes/formats of the image shown above)
In using these images, you must credit: High Altitude Observatory and Rhodes College.
- reduced scale (482x443) annotated image, GIF format, 81251 bytes (uncalibrated)
- FULLRES (982x775) annotated image, GIF format, 287525 bytes (uncalibrated)
- FULLRES (982x775) annotated image, TIFF format, 761248 bytes (uncalibrated)
Technical Information for image
Time: 17:31:11 UT
Pangle: 1.60 degrees Heliocentric north is 1.6 degrees counter
clockwise of vertical. Vertical (top) is
geocentric north. Left, (9 o'clock) is east.
To assist in orientation, the darkest region is to
the NORTH (top). There is a bright "hook" prominence
in the NORTHWEST (upper right) and a barely visible
prominence in the SOUTHWEST (lower right). There
are several dots of prominences just slightly
SOUTH of EAST (left, and just a little down).
Objective aperture 11.4 cm
Focal length 178 cm
Focal ratio f/15
Film Kodak Technical Pan / 2415
Development D19 - 5 minutes (Film was developed at Sacramento Peak
Observatory by Lou Gilliam)
Wavelength isolation filer - Schott OG-3
Effective wavelength - 6500 A
Exposure 27 seconds
Radial filter range - 10^4 in transmission.
Note: There are round dark circular artifacts in the image. These are
the result of out of focus dust within the telescope.
Additional 1998 Eclipse Information
The High Altitude Observatory sent two crews to analyze the total solar eclipse on Thursday, 26 February 1998. One team, consisting of Greg Card, David Elmore, Alice Lecinski, Bruce Lites, Kim Streander and Steve Tomczyk, was stationed on the ground at Curaçao. The other team, led by Profs. Bob MacQueen (Rhodes College) and Jeff Kuhn (Michigan State University [MSU] and National Solar Observatory [NSO]) included other researchers from Rhodes, NSO, MSU and from Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy in Lindau Germany, as well as HAO. The latter team viewed the eclipse from the NCAR C-130 research aircraft, flying from Howard Air Force Base near Panama City. The eclipse took place in these areas between 10:00AM and 12:00PM MST.
This image was taken with the POISE instrument by the HAO Eclipse Team in Curaçao at ~18:11 UT. In using this image, you must credit: High Altitude Observatory.
Image sizes and formats for download (unless otherwise noted, the links below will download various sizes/formats of the image shown above)
- reduced scale (508x440), annotated image, GIF format, 88 kb (uncalibrated)
- reduced scale (508x440), annotated image, TIFF format, 225 kb (uncalibrated)
- FULLRES (2034x1762), annotated image, GIF format, 2.9 Mb (uncalibrated)
- FULLRES (2034x1762), annotated image, TIFF format, 3.6 Mb (uncalibrated)
FULLRES (2034x2034) white light intensity image, FITS format, 16.6 Mb (calibrated)
FULLRES (2034x2034) white light intensity image, GIF format, 800 kb (calibrated)
Field of view is 6.748 solar radii. The image is created from four 4" exposures, four 1" exposures and four 1/4" exposures. The 4" exposures are summed and where they are saturated the intensity-scaled sum of the 1" exposures is substituted and where the 1" exposures are saturated the intensity-scaled 1/4" exposures are substituted. Images are calibrated using HAO standard opals and a linear polarizer.
FULLRES (2034x2034) polarization brightness image, FITS format, 16.6 Mb (calibrated)
FULLRES (2034x2034) polarization brightness image, GIF format, 1.2 Mb (calibrated)
Created using the same images as the intensity image above but utilizing the polarization modulation for each exposure time. Similarly to intensity saturated regions in long exposure, intensity have pB replaced by pB from shorter exposures. Images are calibrated using HAO standard opals and a linear polarizer.
'Scarab' Image
Enhanced, calibrated "Intensity" image of the solar corona made at the total solar eclipse on 26 February 1998 in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, with the HAO Polarimetric Instrument for the Solar Eclipse 1998 (POISE98). This image shows both the plumes at the solar poles and the coronal streamers nearer the Sun's equator at onset of Solar Cycle 23.
The POISE has an aperture of 80 mm, an effective focal length of 1000 mm, and a field of view of 6.5X6.5 solar radii on a Loral CCD with 2034X2034 pixels. The pixel size is 3.1X3.1 arc seconds. The spectral band of the image is set by an Andover filter with a central wavelength of 620 nm and a bandwidth of 10 nm. The CCD camera is a Pixel Vision Spectra Video camera with 16 bit digitization, an electron well depth of 95,000 electrons, and a read noise 20 electrons. The polarization analyzer contains fixed linear and quarter wave polarizers together with a Meadowlark Optics liquid crystal variable retarder. This image is a calibrated "intensity" composite of a series of 0.25, 1.0 and 4 second exposures.
The POISE98 images can be processed numerically to remove the radial gradient due to the rapid outward decrease in the coronal density. This numerical 'flattening' replaces the radially graded optical filter used in the photographic Newkirk camera which was used in previous HAO eclipse expeditions.
Specifically, the processing involved to produce this image was: dividing a r^-5 filtered, 2-D sobel filtered image, by a r^-5 filtered image. This results in great edge enhancements and discernibility of fine structure in the data. Such fine details improve understanding of a fundamental solar physics question: "Why is the solar corona so hot, and how does it get that way?"
Is is known that most of the heating occurs very close to the solar limb, that is, very low in the corona. And, is only at eclipses where one can observe the corona in this region.
The HAO expedition team for the '98 eclipse is Alice Lecinski, Kim Streander, David Elmore, Greg Card, Bruce Lites, and Steve Tomczyk. David Elmore developed and perfected the calibration and filtering procedure. Alice Lecinski assisted. O.R. White provided editting support, and wrote much of the above caption. R. Lull provided instrumentation support.
The High Altitude Observatory is a division of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is operated by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research under contract with U.S. National Science Foundation.
Versions of edge-enhanced scarab image for download (unless otherwise noted, the links below will download various sizes/formats of the image shown above)
- edge enhanced, FALSE COLOR image (2033x2628), GIF format, 1.3 Mb Calibrated intensity data run through various filters and processing to enhance edges and fine structure.
- edge enhanced, FALSE COLOR image, PS format, 31 Mb Calibrated intensity data run through various filters and processing to enhance edges and fine structure.
- edge enhanced, FALSE COLOR image (2033x2628), TIFF format, 1.3 Mb. Calibrated intensity data run through various filters and processing to enhance edges and fine structure.
All POISE data for 1998 eclipse
Visit the POISE data directory for access to all data taken by the instrument during the 1998 eclipse.
Photometric Eclipse Polar Plume Imager (PEPPI)
HAO, led by Dr. Bruce Lites, developed the Photometric Eclipse Polar Plume Imager (PEPPI) to study MHD wave-like motions in the corona during the 1994 eclipse in Putre, Chile and at the solar eclipse on Feb 26 1998 in Curacao, Netherlands Antillies. The 1998 PEPPI observations were in coordination with SOHO EIT observations of the polar plumes at 195 Angstroms. For more information and scientific results of this work please see:
Lites, et al., 'Dynamics of Polar Plumes Observed at the 1998 February 26 Eclipse, 1999, Solar Phys., 190, pp 185-206, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005209409104
PEPPI Eclipse image (306x228), tiff format. This uncalibrated, enhanced image (a frame from the animation below) was taken by the HAO Eclipse Team in Curacao at ~18:12 UT.
PEPPI eclipse animation (306x228) merged GIF format (non-looping), 1.4Mb. This animation of (averaged, enhanced) PEPPI images shows some changes in polar plumes. Can you spot them?
Mauna Loa Solar Observatory:
The Mk3 Coronameter, located at the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) on the big island of Hawaii, collected coronal data on eclipse day.
Shown is an average of images taken between 17:36 and 18:43 UT. The eclipse itself was not visible from Hawaii.
MLSO average image (512x512) on 26 February 1998, GIF format
Southwest Research Institute:
Check out the 1998 eclipse data from Southwest Research Institute.
SwRI Eclipse animation, merged gif format (2Mb)
Comparison of 1980 and 1994 Eclipses
Eclipse images from 16 February 1980 Palem, India and 3 November 1994 Putre, Chile.
The 1980 eclipse occurred near solar maximum, and the 1994 eclipse near solar minimum. It is therefore very interesting to compare images from these two times as the contrast in complexity of solar coronal structure is quite apparent.
FULLRES TIFF (770x1050)
FULLRES PostScript
FULLRES, FALSE COLOR TIFF (770x1050)
FULLRES FALSE COLOR PostScript
Eclipse image from 16 February 1980 Palem, India
The total solar eclipse of 16 February 1980, photographed at Palem, India, by a research team from the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, and Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee. Members of the team were John L. Streete and Leon B. Lacey. The expedition was sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
This photograph of the solar corona was taken with a camera developed by Gordon A. Newkirk, Jr. This specialized instrument photographs the corona in red light -- 6400A -- through a radially graded filter that suppresses the bright inner corona in order to show the much fainter streamers of the outer corona in the same photograph.
Credit image to: High Altitude Observatory and Rhodes College. The High Altitude Observatory is a division of National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado, USA. NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Technical Information for image
The image has been rotated to heliocentric coordinates. North is to the top, East to the left. objective apperature - 11.1 cm focal length - 178 cm focal ratio - F1/15 film - Kodak Linagraph Shellburst (70mm) development - D-76 (1:1) 8.5 min filter - Schott OG-3 effective wavelength - 6400A exposure - 24 seconds radial filter range - 10^4 in transmission
Eclipse image from 3 November 1994 Putre, Chile
The total solar eclipse of 4 November 1994, photographed at Putre, Chile, by a research team from the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado. Members of the team were Greg Card, David Elmore, Alice Lecinski, Kim Streander and Dick White. The expedition was sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
This photograph of the solar corona was taken with a camera developed by Gordon A. Newkirk, Jr. This specialized instrument photographs the corona in red light -- 6400A -- through a radially graded filter that suppresses the bright inner corona in order to show the much fainter streamers of the outer corona in the same photograph.
Credit image to: High Altitude Observatory. The High Altitude Observatory is a division of National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado, USA. NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Technical Information for image
The image has been rotated to heliocentric coordinates. North is to the top, East to the left. objective apperature - 11.1 cm focal length - 178 cm focal ratio - F1/15 film - Kodak Technical Pan / 2415 (70mm) development - D-19 (1:1) 5 min filter - Schott OG-3 effective wavelength - 6400A exposure - 30 seconds radial filter range - 10^4 in transmission
