The eclipse season has begun on the SDO satellite, the world's primary source of solar images from space. Once a day, between approximately 7 and 8 UTC, the direction of the Sun will be blocked by Earth. In this case, the planet is distinguished from the Moon by the jagged, ragged edge of the occulting body—a clear sign of an extended atmosphere. The eclipses began yesterday, July 5, and will last until August 2.

As an alternative source, if something interesting happens at this time, you can use images from the SUVI telescopes on the GOES satellites. Although they also occasionally go dark (an inevitable price for being in geostationary orbit), this happens at different times. Furthermore, images are now typically transmitted simultaneously from at least two satellites (GOES is a constellation), and when one goes dark, data can be obtained from the other.

So, if you occasionally see this Sun in images this month, don't be alarmed. The situation is under control :)

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Laboratory of Solar Astronomy, SRI RAS

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