Baily’s Beads

July 22, 2019

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July 2019 Viewer's ChoicePhotographer: Petr Horálek
Summary Author: Petr Horálek 

As a total solar eclipse progresses, a number of amazing phenomena can be observed including the solar corona, the visibility of bright stars and planets during daylight, the diamond ring, etc. The most dynamic moments occur, however, during the beginning and end stages of totality, when the solar photosphere radiates over the mountainous edge of the Moon. At these times small shining regions, looking like a string of pearls, can often be seen at the edge of the lunar disk. This is the so-called Baily’s beads phenomenon, named after Francis Baily (1774-1844). I was fortunate because the visibility of the beads over my location, at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, was unusually long due to our position close to the edge of the path of totality. Photo taken on July 2, 2019.

Photo Details: Canon 6D camera; MTO; 1100/f10.5.