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As the total phase of
July 11's solar eclipse came to an end,
sunlight streaming past the edge of the Moon's silhouette
created the fleeting appearance of a glistening
diamond ring
in the sky.
Seen through a thin cloud layer
from the French Polynesian
atoll of Hao it also produced remarkable
shadow bands,
flickering across the dramatic scene.
Projected onto the cloud layer, the shadow bands are parallel
to the sliver of sunlight emerging from behind the Moon's edge.
Caused by turbulence in
Earth's atmosphere refracting the sliver of sunlight,
the narrow bands were captured
in this brief, 1/400th second exposure.
Shining through the cloud droplets, the sunlight also
produced a luminous atmospheric corona, not to be confused with
the solar corona seen during eclipse totality.
The
atmospheric corona is centered on the bright diamond of
emerging sunlight.
Credit & Copyright:
Stephen Schneider
(UMass Astronomy Dept.)
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