Sunday lived up to its name this past weekend, as countless skywatchers in the western U.S. took in a rare annular solar eclipse. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly in front of the sun but its apparent size, from Earth's perspective, is too small to completely cover the solar disk. During the May 20 eclipse, the moon covered as much as 94 percent of the sun, leaving a narrow "ring of fire" in the sky. (The apparent diameters of the sun and moon change over time; this is especially true for the moon, because its distance to Earth varies significantly over the course of its monthly elliptical orbit.)

The eclipse was visible in a narrow stripe crossing several western states, from Oregon to Texas, as well as in parts of Asia. A partial eclipse was visible from many more locations. Some observers documented the event using professional-quality astrophotography rigs complete with solar filters; some used binoculars to project the eclipse onto a screen for safe viewing. (Viewing the eclipse directly through binoculars could cause severe eye damage.) Other enthusiasts used makeshift pinhole devices—a colander, a clenched hand—whereas many relied on the natural pinhole-filtering effect of sunlight streaming between tree branches and leaves. We chose 10 photos of the eclipse—captured by professionals, by amateurs and by one Earth-orbiting spacecraft—that represent the myriad views different people had of the same event.

View a slide show of Sunday’s annular solar eclipse.

4 Comments

1. 1. EmilyCragg 05:21 PM 5/24/12

   I have reasons to believe, and evidences to show, that we the people are not seeing the real situation. I am making a whole Album Folder of these Annular Eclipse photos, bringing them up to color, so you can see better what this "moon" is. I use my first name on Facebook, at their insistence, Maureen Cragg. Stop by and see my Moon May 2012 Album. It will surprise you. :) M.E.Cragg

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2. 2. fschchr in reply to EmilyCragg 12:40 AM 5/25/12

   what the h*** kind of primitive thinking idiocy is this paranoid drivel? I suggest a long "rest"

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3. 3. EmilyCragg 04:30 PM 5/27/12

   Look fschchr, you can believe whatever you want. Believe that was "our sun and moon" on the 20th, I don't care. What I know from re-rendering the "annular eclipse" photos is that was NOT our Moon, NOT our Sun. It was Wormwood, the brown dwarf and its satellite, Nibiru, which is now our Moon. Our--THIS--Planet is now captured in the Orion orbit with Wormwood and Nibiru, and 1200 years from now we'll be looking back at the old Solar System and remembering when. You think I'm crazy? Well, I think YOU're ignorant, no thanks to mainstream media and mainstream academics. (Look me up on Facebook, Maureen Cragg, anytime!)

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4. 4. EmilyCragg 05:01 PM 5/27/12

   http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3935861445560.158411.1550556217&type=3
   
   People PREFER the Official Versions even when they know they're being lied to.

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