SDO's 31st eclipse season begins at
07:21 UT on July 10, 2025, and will last until August 7. SDO's orbit is geosynchronous, inclined relative to the Earth's axis so most of time SDO has a 24/7 view of the Sun. However, there are times when SDO's orbit passes behind the Earth, and during these periods SDO experiences brief interruptions in its observations of the Sun. On July 25 SDO will pass behind both the moon and the Earth on the same day!
Because of the Earth's atmosphere, the Earth's edge appears diffuse in SDO images while the lunar edge is quite sharp. Here are images from the the last SDO eclipse season to compare. The left image shows a shadow caused by the Sun's light being blocked by the Earth on an SDO 1700 Å UV image. The right image shows the sharp edge caused by the moon, which has little atmosphere.
