Encore - Annular Solar Eclipse at Horseshoe Bend

June 09, 2018

Ring of Fire over Horseshoe Bend Arizona-EPOD (2)

Today and every Saturday Earth Science Picture of the Day invites you to rediscover favorites from the past. Saturday posts feature an EPOD that was chosen by viewers like you in our monthly Viewers' Choice polls. Join us as we look back at these intriguing and captivating images.

Photographer: Clinton Melander
Summary AuthorClinton Melander

July 2012 Viewer's Choice The image above captures the remarkable experience of viewing the annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012 at Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River in Northern Arizona. Horseshoe Bend is a looping meander entrenched into the bedrock. Like all such meanders, this one formed when the underlying land was uplifted by tectonic forces. The uplifting acted to bring new life to the Colorado River, providing added power to cut through the Jurassic sandstone. An additional bit of fun in this image is the hundreds of photographers all taking in both the eclipse and the extraordinary view. They can be seen (center right and left) lining the canyon rim, with a 1,000 ft (305 m) drop to the Colorado River below. For more about this eclipse see the Earth Science Picture of the Day for May 20, 2012.

Photo Details: The original 1.78-gigabyte composite image measures 22500 x 14250 and is made from about 48 images. The body of the image is made up of 30 frames shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera (using a 24mm lens) utilizing its three frame per shot in-camera High Dynamic Range (HDR). Eighteen frames were shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera (using a 400mm lens) for the composited eclipse of the Sun in place over the canyon.

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