--- title: Watch the Total Solar Eclipse in 5 Seconds description: If you weren't in the Faroe Islands to see it, catch the time lapse here canonical: https://time.com/3752309/watch-total-solar-eclipse/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-20T13:23:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:42.040Z article:section: Science og:title: Watch the Total Solar Eclipse in 5 Seconds og:description: If you weren't in the Faroe Islands to see it, catch the time lapse here og:url: https://time.com/3752309/watch-total-solar-eclipse/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9bc6362b922afd0/69878482428a9ef1afcc7ba3/solar-eclipse-2015.gif?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: solar-eclipse-2015.gif og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch the Total Solar Eclipse in 5 Seconds twitter:description: If you weren't in the Faroe Islands to see it, catch the time lapse here twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9bc6362b922afd0/69878482428a9ef1afcc7ba3/solar-eclipse-2015.gif?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch the Total Solar Eclipse in 5 Seconds ## Video: Partial Solar Eclipse in Rome [Watch (HLS stream): Partial Solar Eclipse in Rome](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5tBjq7bb.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2015-03-20. Partial Solar Eclipse in Rome_ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) and [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) Mar 20, 2015 1:23 PM UTC  ESA/SDO/dpa/Corbis (6); GIF by Mia Tramz for TIME by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) and [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) Mar 20, 2015 1:23 PM UTC People in a small swath of Europe were treated to a total solar eclipse early Friday morning as the moon aligned to fully block the sun from their vantage point on Earth. The European Space Agency published images of the eclipse recorded by a small Proba-2 satellite. Americans haven’t seen a total solar eclipse [since 1979](http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-total-solar-eclipse-online-20150319-htmlstory.html), and certain states will see the next one on Aug. 21, 2017. ### See the Best Solar Eclipse Pictures  The total solar eclipse seen from Svalbard, Norway on March 20, 2015. Olav Jon Nesvold—EPA  The sun through clouds during the maximun solar eclipse seen from the Jolimont observatory in Toulouse, France on March 20, 2015. Alain Pitton—Demotix/Corbis  A partial solar eclipse of the sun is visible in Rabat, Morocco on March 20, 2015. Abdelhak Senna—EPA  A total solar eclipse occurs over Svalbard, Norway on March 20, 2015. Haakon Mosvold Larsen—NTB Scanpix/Reuters  A dove is pictured in front of the sun during a partial solar eclipse in Munich on March 20, 2015. Alexander Hassenstein—Getty Images  A partial solar eclipse is seen through clouds in Sofia, Bugaria on March 20, 2015. Stoyan Nenov—Reuters  Partial Solar eclipse seen from Yorkshire, United Kingdom on March 20, 2015. Nigel Roddis—Rex USA  The moon passes between the sun and the earth after the totality phase of a total solar eclipse as from Torshavn, the capital of the Faeroe Islands on March 20, 2015. 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