Solar Eclipses

A total solar eclipse may well be Nature's most spectacular display. Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. Partial eclipses, in which only a portion of the sun's disk is covered by the moon, are visible over a wide area on the earth. But the real fun begins when you carefully position yourself on the long, narrow path that experiences a center-for-center passage of the moon in front of the sun. When the moon completely blots out the disk of the sun, a total solar eclipse occurs. The sky darkens dramatically, and the sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, briefly becomes visible in pearlescent jets and streamers. Both the beginning and end of totality are marked by the brilliant "diamond ring effect".

However, just positioning yourself along the central line of a solar eclipse doesn't necessarily mean you'll see a total eclipse, the risks and chances of weather aside. Because the moon moves about the earth in an ellipse rather than a circle, its apparent size in our sky varies. If a solar eclipse occurs when the moon is in the further parts of its orbit, it appears too small to completely cover the sun. Observers on the centerline of such an eclipse witness the sun's transformation into a narrow bright ring or annulus, hence the name annular eclipse. A special case is the "Ring of Fire" eclipse, when an annular eclipse occurs right at sunrise or at sunset.

It is important to note that appropriate eye protection must be used whenever any portion of the sun's blinding, bright disk (the photosphere) is visible. Only during totality is it safe to look directly at a solar eclipse. For more detailed information on solar eclipses, visit Fred Espenak's Solar Eclipse Site. Below are descriptions of my voyages to eclipse centerlines.

July 11, 1991 - Baja California, Mexico. What a way to start! Over six minutes of totality! The diamond ring at third contact also had a ruby - a large bright solar prominence. Picture taken through a University Optics 80mm f/6 refractor on Ektar 125 film. Click the image for a closer view.

January 4, 1992. This was a spectacular Ring of Fire eclipse occurring at sunset from the beach at La Jolla, California. Picture taken through a University Optics 80mm f/6 refractor on Ektar 125 film. Click the image for a closer view.

May 10, 1994. This multiple exposure shows the progression of the annular eclipse seen from El Paso Texas. Picture taken through a University Optics 80mm f/6 refractor on Royal Gold 100 film. Click the image for a closer view.

November 3, 1994. Chasing this eclipse took us high in the Bolivian Andes, south of Sevaruyo. High peaks, herds of llamas, and a clear sky made for an exotic setting for a beautiful total eclipse. Picture taken through a University Optics 80mm f/6 refractor on Royal Gold 100 film. (Yes, this is a composite.) Click the image for a closer view.

March 9, 1997. This eclipse led us to Darhan, Mongolia, near the Siberian border. A snow storm enveloped us during the eclipse, but the clouds thinned enough for a few brief glimpses around totality. No filters needed on this one. Taken with a Sony TR-81 video camera. Click the image for a closer view.

February 26, 1998. Totality in clear skies from Coral Cliff on the Caribbean island of Curacao made this an ideal eclipse trip. Pictures taken through a Meade ETX telescope and Royal Gold 100 film. Click the image at right to go to an online slide show of the eclipse. (If your browser does not support Javascript's images collection, you can access the images from this non-Javascript page.)

February 26, 1998. Again from Coral Cliff. Animated GIF sequence of images from a Sony TR-81 video camera.

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