Wednesday’s solar spectacle over the Pacific Ocean wasn’t the only eclipse to happen this week. More than 22,000 miles above Earth, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, watched the sun blackout every day for nearly a month.

The SDO is a 6,600-pound spacecraft that was designed to stare at the sun and investigate its magnetic fields and solar winds. Normally the ship’s gaze goes completely undisturbed as it orbits the Earth. But twice a year, around the equinoxes, it enters what NASA calls “eclipse season.” For three weeks, the Earth blocks the device’s view of the sun once each day.

This year starting on Feb. 19, the spacecraft began experiencing ephemeral blackouts that lasted only a few minutes. The obstructions gradually grew and by the beginning of March they peaked with a 72-minute eclipse. On Thursday it was back at around a few minutes, and by March 12 the SDO will return to its uninterrupted solar marathon.