Graphic designer Kendall Last photographed a plane flying through a total solar eclipse in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
kendall last
The total solar eclipse that passed through North America on April 8 drew millions of people to the path of totality, a thin strip where the moon’s silhouette blocks the entire disk of the sun. Even more spectacular was the partial solar eclipse that was visible over much of the continent.here are 5 new scientist‘s favorite images of the 2024 total solar eclipse.
beginning of solar eclipse
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
To the right of this image taken in Kerrville, Texas, you can see the edge of the moon just beginning to penetrate the sun. Near the center and left side of the Sun are a pair of sunspots. This is a dim region where the Sun’s surface cools abnormally.
bailey beads
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
This photo, also taken in Kerrville, Texas, shows a phenomenon called Bailey’s beads. Just before and after totality, the moon’s topography allows small rays of sunlight to peek out around its edges, creating a bright spot at the edge of the moon’s silhouette.
Shadow of the moon
Shira/Noah
This image was taken by the GOES-East satellite, which observes the Earth from space for weather monitoring and forecasting. During the eclipse, the moon’s shadow covered Mexico and the United States, creating a pool of twilight-like darkness at its center and a partial solar eclipse at its edges.
prominence
NASA/Joel Kowsky
Several prominences were visible at the edge of the Sun during the totality photographed from Indianapolis, Indiana. These are regions where the sun’s complex magnetic field forms hot plasma and bright loops or flares that explode from the sun’s surface, and are most easily observed when the sun’s disk is obscured by the moon.
solar corona
NASA/Keegan Barber
The main importance of a total solar eclipse to scientists is that it provides a unique opportunity to observe the sun’s transparent outer layer, the corona. A solar eclipse is the perfect time to study this mysterious sheet of plasma shown during totality in Dallas, Texas, because the sun’s disk, if unobstructed, shines far beyond the corona. .
On April 8th, a total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Our special series covers everything you need to know, from how and when to see a solar eclipse to the strangest solar eclipse experience of all time. topic:
solar eclipse 2024
