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More amazing images of the July 2 eclipse

Black circle with fine, delicate white rays coming out, more on the sides.
This composite image captures the drama of totality during the July 2, 2019, total solar eclipse. When – as seen from Earth – the moon passes directly in front of the sun, the sun’s light is blocked and its extended atmosphere or corona can be seen. The processing of this image highlights the intricate detail of the corona, its structures shaped by the sun’s magnetic field. Some details of the lunar surface can also be seen. The image – via European Space Agency (ESA) – was created by the ESA-CESAR team observing the eclipse from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, South America.
Close-up of one edge of the eclipsed sun, with a red prominence extending outward.
A prominence seen in the sun’s chromosphere during the July 2, 2019, total solar eclipse. Prominences are made of tangled magnetic field lines that keep dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above the sun’s surface. They are anchored to the sun’s visible surface and extend outwards through the chromosphere and out into the corona. The red hue of the chromosphere is only apparent during an eclipse. This image – via ESA – was taken by the ESA-CESAR team observing the eclipse from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, South America.
Totally eclipsed sun with corona and panels showing stages of eclipse.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Total solar eclipse over Vicuna, Chile, on July 2, 2019 from Alexander Krivenyshev of the website WorldTimeZone.com.
Totally eclipsed sun - with dark moon blotting it out - in darkened sky over a desert campground.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Pablo Goffard caught the July 2 total solar eclipse from Incahuasi, Chile. He wrote: “This is just a photo, a tiny part of the experience. Incahuasi is a small town in the Atacama desert. Here is seen the camp installed especially for the eclipse.”
Nine silhouetted standing people with the tiny-appearing eclipsed sun in the dark sky.
This image of eclipse-watchers was taken by a frequent EarthSky contributor, Yuri Beletsky, on the Chilean coast. It was chosen as an Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 4, 2019. Congratulations on a wonderful photo, Yuri! Note that diffraction spikes (apparent rays from the sun) are effects from the camera lens aperture.

While some observers on the southern part of Earth saw a total solar eclipse, the European Space Agency’s PROBA-2 satellite’s SWAP imager in space saw a partial eclipse, as shown in the video below. The images are in ultraviolet light, revealing the turbulent nature of the sun’s surface and corona. ESA said:

During this eclipse the satellite was passing through the South Atlantic Anomaly at the time of the largest occultation [covering of the sun]. In this region the spacecraft is exposed to higher levels of radiation. The increased flux of energetic particles falling on the satellite’s detector is the cause for all the bright dots and streaks in the images.

Bottom line: More amazing images of the July 2, 2019, total solar eclipse.

Also, check out Eliot Herman’s images. He caught the July 2, 2019, eclipse from La Serena, Chile.

Posted 
July 4, 2019
 in 
Astronomy Essentials

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