Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2019 December 25

                  An Annular Solar Eclipse over New Mexico
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Colleen Pinski

   Explanation: What is this person doing? In 2012 an annular eclipse of
   the Sun was visible over a narrow path that crossed the northern
   Pacific Ocean and several western US states. In an annular solar
   eclipse, the Moon is too far from the Earth to block out the entire
   Sun, leaving the Sun peeking out over the Moon's disk in a ring of
   fire. To capture this unusual solar event, an industrious photographer
   drove from Arizona to New Mexico to find just the right vista. After
   setting up and just as the eclipsed Sun was setting over a ridge about
   0.5 kilometers away, a person unknowingly walked right into the shot.
   Although grateful for the unexpected human element, the photographer
   never learned the identity of the silhouetted interloper. It appears
   likely, though, that the person is holding a circular device that would
   enable them to get their own view of the eclipse. The shot was taken at
   sunset on 2012 May 20 at 7:36 pm local time from a park near
   Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Tomorrow another annular solar eclipse
   will become visible, this time along a thin path starting in Saudi
   Arabia and going through southern India, Singapore, and Guam. However,
   almost all of Asia with a clear sky will be able to see, tomorrow, at
   the least, a partial solar eclipse.

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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