Our Favourite Pictures From The 2017 Eclipse
- 22nd Aug 2017
- Author: Josh Barker
During the total solar eclipse over the United States on 21 August 2017, many fantastic images were taken. A few of them really caught our eye and we wanted to share them with you here.
From a scientific stand point this image by Kenneth Brandon really stood out to us. Scientists and astronomers are very interested in eclipses as they allow us to see things that we don’t normally get to see. In this time-lapse image from just before to just after totality, we get an idea of some of the hidden mysteries that the eclipse reveals.
In the very centre of the image, one of the first things we spot is the wispy cloud-like structure radiating from the Sun. This is the Sun’s atmosphere, or corona. We don’t normally get to see this as it is obscured by the bright light from the Sun. During a total eclipse that glare is eliminated and we can see this structure along with prominences leaping off the Sun’s surface.
As the disc of the Moon travels across the Sun, we can see that the Moon’s surface isn’t smooth. Instead it is covered in mountains, valleys, and other irregularities. This means that as the Moon crosses the Sun we can see bumps and breaks along the edge just before and after totality. These beads are known as Baily’s Beads after the scientist who first explained their origin. The last bead is what gives rise to the famous ‘Diamond Ring’ effect when the eclipse appears as a delicate ring with a bright point.
While the vast majority of people viewed the eclipse from the ground, there were six lucky individuals who saw the eclipse from space. With a unique vantage point 400 km above the ground the astronauts aboard the International Space Station were armed with an array of cameras to capture this fantastic event.
Our favourite image came from Randy Bresnik. He captured this image of the Moon’s shadow falling on the Earth. From the ground it is difficult to visualise the eclipse as the Moon’s shadow, but from space it is easy.NASA’s DSCOVR satellite often makes space-based observations of the Moon’s shadow passing over the Earth, producing wonderful animations that show the shadow’s path across the planet.
To view the eclipse from here on Earth, many people busied themselves with finding eclipse glasses, getting special protective telescope filters, making pinhole projectors, and using other creative methods to safely view the eclipse.
However, nature provides an unusual method for viewing the eclipse safely without the need for extra equipment. In this case, all you need is a tree. The tiny gaps in the foliage actually create many tiny pinholes that work in the same way as a camera or projector to magnify the image. This image from Wendy Joy shows a mass of projected eclipses shining through the foliage.
People discovered that other objects with small holes also worked incredibly well. We heard reports eclipse images from colanders, cardboard boxes, and welding helmets, and even Ritz crackers!
Leading up to the eclipse, there was much discussion of the exact eclipse path across the United States. This helped people figure out where they needed to be in order to get a good view. People booked hotels in advanced and many travelled to go and see the eclipse, especially along the path of totality. Of course this path had been accurately calculated beforehand, but we stumbled upon some interesting data that gave an unusual method for mapping the path of the eclipse. The image on the left is traffic data taken from Google Maps. As people travelled to see the eclipse, the roads converging on the path were clearly choked with traffic, as seen in red.
The eclipse is a rare and visually stunning event, which is one of the reasons why, in ancient times, eclipses were associated with the supernatural. On its own the eclipse can produce some spectacular images, however with a little bit of creativity and planning, this spectacle can be pushed even further.
In this image from Keith Ladzinski, we see a stunningly beautiful shot of a slackliner ‘walking on air’, silhouetted by the eclipse. Images like this add to the mystery and wonder of an eclipse and show a unique way of enjoying this rare event.
Finally one of our favourite images from the eclipse is not one of the Sun or the Moon. In fact it’s not even one image. Our favourite pictures were all the ones showing crowds of people out enjoying the event. There were images of school children, members of the public, people at big events, people in their gardens, and many more. Thousands of people got the opportunity to experience this special event first-hand, with many more being able to tune in and follow it online. One of our passions here at the National Space Centre is to share the wonder of space and science with others so it was to great to see so many people getting involved and excited by this cosmic phenomenon.
About the author: Josh Barker is an Education Presenter and a part of the Space Communications team at the National Space Centre.
