Explanation:
A train trip on the Trans-Siberian railway to Novosibirsk
resulted in this stunning view along the edge of the Sun recorded
during the
August
1st total solar eclipse.
The picture is a composite of two images taken at special moments
in the eclipse sequence, corresponding to
the very beginning and the very end of the total eclipse phase.
Those times are known to
eclipse chasers
as 2nd and 3rd
contact.
Bright beads around the Moon's dark silhouette are rays of sunlight
shining through
lunar valleys at the edge of the lunar disk.
But the composite view also captures
solar prominences, looping structures of hot
plasma suspended in magnetic fields, extending beyond the Sun's edge.
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