Explanation:
The Moon's shadow raced across
planet Earth on
January 15.
Observers within the central shadow track were able to witness
an annular
solar eclipse
as the Moon's apparent size was too small to
completely cover the Sun.
A visually dramatic
ring of fire, the annular phase
lasted up to 11 minutes and 8 seconds depending on location,
the longest annular solar eclipse for the next
1,000 years.
This picture of the Moon's silhouette just before mid-eclipse was taken
within the eclipse path from the city of Kanyakumari at the
southern tip
of India.
The telescopic image was made through a filter that blocks most visible
light, but still transmits light from
hydrogen atoms.
As a result, detailed mottling, or granulation, caused by heat
convection in the Sun's
atmosphere can be seen around the dark lunar disk.
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