Total Solar Eclipse of March 20, 2015

April 20, 2015

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Photographers: Top - Kosmas Gazeas; Bottom - Constantine Emmanouilidi
Summary Authors: Kosmas Gazeas; Jim Foster

Shown above is a sequence of the Moon passing in the front of the solar disk on March 20, 2015, as observed from Svalbard, Norway. This total eclipse of the Sun was only visible along a narrow path in the North Atlantic Ocean (east of Greenland) and in the eastern Arctic Ocean. At Svalbard the weather fully cooperated, but despite beautifully clear conditions the temperature was a numbing -22 F (-30 C). However, the combination of Svalbard's frozen landscape and the exhilaration of witnessing a total solar eclipse made my trip to this Arctic land an unforgettable experience. The bottom photo, captured from the Faroe Islands, shows solar prominences flicking out from behind the Moon.
 
Photo details: Top - Canon EOS 5D MarkIII camera; ISO 500; 500 mm, f/5.6 lens; 1/3200 sec. exposure for the partial phases, 1/13 sec. exposure for the total eclipse and corona.