Solar Eclipse
22 Jul 2009, China --- A digital composite of the July 22, 2009 total solar eclipse highlights the solar corona while also showing both the "diamond rings" at the beginning and end of totality, as well as the sun's chromosphere, and a small prominence. This was the longest total eclipse of the century, and the longest until 2132. The photographer shot the image through a 600mm Canon lens with a 2x tele-extender, resulting in a 1200mm F/8 optical system. Four images were combined in Photoshop to extend the dynamic range, thereby maintaining both the brightest and dimmest details that were visible to the Williams College Eclipse Expedition. | Location: Tianhuangping, China. --- Image by © Roger Ressmeyer with Jay Pasachoff - Williams College/Science Faction/Corbis
01 Aug 2008, Mongolia --- The solar corona and solar prominences swirl around the eastern limb of a total solar eclipse seen from Mongolia. This is a composite of 25 separate images, taken with a camera set at ISO 100 for 1/4000 of second over 8 seconds. | Location: Bor Udzuur, Mongolia. --- Image by © Miloslav Druckmuller, Peter Aniol, Martin Dietzel, Vojtech Rusin/Science Faction/Corbis
On February 25, 2007 there was a transit of the Moon across the face of the Sun - but it could not be seen from Earth. This sight was visible only from the STEREO-B spacecraft in its orbit about the sun, trailing behind the Earth. NASA's STEREO mission consists of two spacecraft launched in October, 2006 to study solar storms. The transit started at 1:56 am EST and continued for 12 hours until 1:57 pm EST. STEREO-B was then about 1 million miles from the Earth, 4.4 times farther away from the Mo --- Image by © STEREO project/NASA/Michael Bens/Kinetikon Pictures/Corbis
Eclipse of the Sun's corona by the Moon. Due to the absence of atmosphere on our natural satellite, here a clean bite is taken out of the Sun, in contrast to the images on pages 81–85. An irregular line of mountains can be seen at the lunar limb. Solar Dynamics Observatory, October 7, 2010 --- Image by © NASA GSFC/Michael Benson/Kinetikon Pictures/Corbis
21 Sep 2009 --- Comet passing a planet, artwork. The planet is passing in front of (eclipsing) its parent star. The light is reddish because it has been refracted by the planet's atmosphere. Comets are bodies of ice and dust that enter the inner solar system from the outer solar system. As they approach the Sun, the heat boils the ice, producing a coma around the nucleus, along with a tail stretching out behind it. --- Image by © Richard Bizley/Science Photo Library/Corbis
Airplanes take the high road, crossing cities, oceans, and deserts around the world. From 30,000 feet (and higher), the view is a changing array of beautiful landscapes, vibrant sunsets, and interesting cloud formations. These striking images are taken from heights only planes can reach. --- Image by © Josef P. Willems/Corbis
25 Feb 2007 --- On February 25, 2007 there was a transit of the Moon across the face of the Sun - but it could not be seen from Earth. This sight was visible only from the STEREO-B spacecraft in its orbit about the sun, trailing behind the Earth. NASA's STEREO mission consists of two spacecraft launched in October, 2006 to study solar storms. The transit started at 1:56 am EST and continued for 12 hours until 1:57 pm EST. STEREO-B was then about 1 million miles from the Earth, 4.4 times farther away from the Mo --- Image by © STEREO project/NASA/Michael Bens/Kinetikon Pictures/Corbis
Eclipse of the Sun's corona by the Moon. Due to the absence of atmosphere on our natural satellite, here a clean bite is taken out of the Sun, in contrast to the images on pages 81–85. An irregular line of mountains can be seen at the lunar limb. Solar Dynamics Observatory, October 7, 2010 --- Image by © NASA GSFC/Michael Benson/Kinetikon Pictures/Corbis
View of the solar corona and magnetic loops during an eclipse of the Sun by the Earth. In this image, the outer plasma atmosphere of the Sun, 200 times hotter than the Sun's surface, is occulted by our planet. The graduated reduction in our view is due to the variable density of Earth's atmosphere, which blocks ultraviolet light. Solar Dynamics Observatory, April 2, 2011 --- Image by © NASA GSFC/Michael Benson/Kinetikon Pictures/Corbis
14 Dec 2006 --- 1919 solar eclipse. Image 3 of 3. This set of images, taken by the British astronomer Arthur Eddington (1882-1944), confirmed Einstein's theory of general relativity. The stars near the Sun appear slightly shifted because their light is curved by its gravitational field. This shift is only noticeable during a solar eclipse as at other times the Sun's brightness obscures the stars. This is a total solar eclipse, when the moon fits over the Sun so only its corona (atmosphere) is visible. Image taken from Principe Island, Gulf of Guinea, on 29 May 1919. For a sequence of the eclipse see R506/416-R506/418. --- Image by © Royal Astronomical Society/Science Photo Library/Corbis
18 May 1995 --- Partial solar eclipse. Time-lapse montage photograph showing the passage of part of the lunar disc on the solar disc. Five images of the setting Sun are seen, in which the second (from left) shows the zenith of the eclipse. Solar eclipses occur when the Sun is partially or totally hidden by the new Moon coming between the Earth and the Sun. --- Image by © Pekka Parviainen/Science Photo Library/Corbis