This is one of a series of photos taken by Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station, showing a shadow of the moon created by the May 20, 2012 solar eclipse, as the shadow spreads across cloud cover on Earth. Pettit used a 28-mm lens on a digital still camera.
Skywatcher Charles Medendorp took this photo of the annular eclipse at the Very Large Array outside Socorro, New Mexico, on May 20, 2012.
The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of the shadow on the Pacific Ocean at roughly 11:30 a.m. local time on May 21, 2012.
Skywatcher Joel Dykstra sent this photo of the solar eclipse taken on May 20, 2012. He writes: "Here are some eclipse pictures I took from my backyard in Roswell, NM with a Pentax K100 D digital SLR and some older manual telephoto lenses. I did not use any filters or special devices. These were taken between 6:45-7:30 mountain time."
Directly under the path of the eclipse, the Grand Canyon was the perfect setting from which to watch the May 20, 2012 Annular eclipse of the Sun.
This is one of a series of photos taken by Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station, showing a shadow of the moon created by the May 20, 2012 solar eclipse, as the shadow spreads across cloud cover on Earth. Pettit used a 28-mm lens on a digital still camera.
This poster from the National Parks Service invites skywatchers to view the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012 from the Grand Canyon.
Brian Day, Director of Communication and Public Outreach, and NLSI Director Yvonne Pendleton, set up the telescopes on May 20, 2012..
Annularity, the Moon is too small to cover the entire Sun’s disk so a ring or “annulus” of bright sunlight surrounds the Moon. This image was taken on May 20, 2012 from the Grand Canyon
The National Parks Service created this poster to promote the annular solar eclipse from Bryce Canyon on May 20, 2012.
This is one of a series of photos taken by Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station, showing a shadow of the moon created by the May 20, 2012 solar eclipse, as the shadow spreads across cloud cover on Earth. Pettit used a 28-mm lens on a digital still camera.
Skywatcher Nick Rose took this image on May 20, 2012 from Millbrae, Calif. Rose used a Canon 1D Mark III and a home made solar filter using Baader AstroSolar Safety Film.
This poster from the National Parks Service welcomes skywatchers to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to see the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012.
This image of the annular solar eclipse was taken by Carl W. Templeton from Pebble beach in Crescent City, Calif.. on May 20, 2012.
Koji Kudo of Kawasaki Japan, sends in this sequence of eclipse images taken May 20, 2012, and writes: "Please use this as a smartphone wall paper if you like:-)"
This photo was taken by the sun-watching Hinode satellite two minutes before the end of the partial solar eclipse on May 20, 2012.
the irregularities of the lunar limb profile (the “edge” of the Moon, as seen from a distance) caused by mountains, craters, valleys and other topographical features on the Moon, the rugged lunar limb topography allows beads of sunlight to shine through in some places, and not in others. This image was taken from the Grand Canyon on May 20, 2012.
This image of the annular solar eclipse was taken by Michael Underwood from Uncompahgre Peak near Lake City, Colorado. . on May 20, 2012.
Homer Liwag of Las Vegas, NV took this shot of the eclipse with interesting refractions. Photo taken May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher Adora sent in this photo of eclipsed sun images on an outdoor surface, taken May 20, 2012. No location given
This image of the annular solar eclipse was taken by Makayla Callister from Phoenix, Ariz. on May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher Richard Plom took this image on May 20, 2012 from Siskiyou County, Calif.
Amateur Astronomer Bill Hood took this photo of the annular solar eclipse from Los Angeles on May 20, 2012. Hood used a Nikon D300 and a 300mm f/2.8 lens to capture the stunning image.
Skywatcher Kasandra McKinney took this image on May 20, 2012 from San Tan Valley, Ariz.
This image, taken by the sun-watching Hinode satellite, was taken two minutes after the start of the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher Chris Fabri took this image of the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012 from North Phoenix. He took the image as the sun gave its last view before setting.
Skywatcher Jina Gren took this image on May 20, 2012 from Weed, California.
Skywatcher Shawn Vasquez took this image of the annular solar eclipse from Nipomo, California on May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher Dave Pierce took this image of the annular solar eclipse from Aurora, Nebraska on May 20, 2012. He used an Olympus Camedia 4000 digital camera with a #14 welders glass.
Geoff Horner snapped this photo of the May 20, 2012 annular solar eclipse from Utah's Zion National Park. It was taken with a Nikon D90, using a 300mm lens with 11-stop ND filter.
Skywatcher Greg Thompson took this photo of the solar eclipse in Pahrump, NV, on May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher Jim Applegate took this image on May 20, 2012 from New Mexico. The image is of a projection onto a paper plate through binoculars.
Skywatcher Sam Border snapped this photo of a partial solar eclipse as it appeared at sunset near Blue Grass, Iowa on May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher Bryan Hubbard sent in this photo of the eclipse taken in Hermosa Beach, CA, May 20, 2012. He says: "Unfortunately, in the Los Angeles area we didn't get the ring of fire but we had some great views. Thanks to the intermittent but sometimes heavy cloud cover, we were afforded some very cool views and I was able to take many photos without a filter."
This image of the annular solar eclipse and the american flag was taken by Diana Ward from Tucson, Ariz. on May 20, 2012.
This image of the annular solar eclipse among palm trees was taken by Diana Ward from Tucson, Ariz. on May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher Abe Megahed took this image on May 20, 2012 from Madison, Wisconsin.
This image of the annular solar eclipse was taken by Josh Spradling from Westwing Mountain in Peoria, Ariz. on May 20, 2012.
This image of the annular solar eclipse projected on a city street was taken by Eric Tend from Dublin, Calif. on May 20, 2012.
Astrophotographer Andikara Soenarto took this image of the annular solar eclipse from Suzhou, China on May 21, 2012. Soenarto used a double CPL filter to capture the event through the clouds.
Astrophotographer Andikara Soenarto took this image of the annular solar eclipse from Suzhou, China on May 21, 2012. Soenarto used a double CPL filter to capture the event through the clouds.
Skywatcher Audey Shen snapped this view of shadows from a partial solar eclipse cast his backyard fence in Palo Alto, Calif., on the May 20, 2012. Shen is a 10th grader at Henry M. Gunn High School.
Skywatcher Tom Bridges took this photo of the solar eclipse on May 20, 2012. He writes: "I live in Tokyo on the 25th floor of a building. The weather was partly cloudy…. I did not use any filters (due to the clouds helping out). This is just what I got on my Nikon D5100."
Skywatcher Sam Border snapped this photo of a partial solar eclipse as it appeared at sunset near Blue Grass, Iowa on May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher David M. captured this view of crescent shadows cast on a robin by the annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012 from Denver, Colo.
Skywatcher Tom Bridges took this photo of the solar eclipse on May 20, 2012. He writes: "I live in Tokyo on the 25th floor of a building. The weather was partly cloudy…. I did not use any filters (due to the clouds helping out). This is just what I got on my Nikon D5100."
This still image from a National Parks Service webcast shows the annular solar eclipse from the Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, N.M.
Skywatcher Audey Shen snapped this view of shadows from a partial solar eclipse cast his backyard fence in Palo Alto, Calif., on the May 20, 2012. Shen is a 10th grader at Henry M. Gunn High School.
Skywatcher Derek Meche took these photos of the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012 from Lafayette, La.
This view of the annular solar eclipse from the Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, N.M. was part of the National Parks Service webcast.
The moon blots out the sun in an annular solar eclipse as seen from the base camp of Mt. Fuji in Japan on May 20, 2012 in this still from a webcast by Panasonic Eclipse Live from Fujiyama by Solar Power, which broadcast the event live online.
The European Space Agency's Proba-2 space weather satellite observed the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012. The event was used to assess the intensity of stormy "active regions" across the sun's face and to check the performance of Proba-2's SWAP imager.
A "sun gun" shows an image of the partial solar eclipse of May 20, 2012 in San Francisco as the Golden Gate Bridge looms in the background.
Yelena Rubinshteyn holds a collander she used to project dozens of images of the May 20, 2012 solar eclipse at San Francisco's Crissy Field.
Six-year-old Cal Smolenski holds a homemade eclipse viewer at San Francisco's Crissy Field on May 20, 2012.
Imelda Joson and Edwin Aguirre recorded the May 20th annular eclipse of the Sun in from Page, Ariz., using a solar-filtered Takahashi FC-60 telescope and a Canon EOS 20D digital SLR camera.
Imelda Joson endured the desert heat to document the Moon’s passage across the sun with her portable Takahashi FC-60 telescope fitted with a Thousand Oaks metal-coated glass filter.
Edwin Aguirre imaged the annular eclipse at hydrogen-alpha wavelength using a 60-millimeter double-stack-filtered Coronado SolarMax II hydrogen-alpha telescope, a 2X Barlow lens, and a Canon EOS 7D DSLR camera.
Edwin Aguirre and Imelda Joson observed the 4 ½-minute-long annular eclipse from a ridge overlooking Horseshoe Bend in the Glen Canyon.
Skywatcher Maxim Senin turned his camera on the crowd of people gathered at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles to view the annular solar eclipse, May 20, 2012.
Skywatcher Maxim Senin caught a photo of a person using binoculars to project the eclipse at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, May 20, 2012.
"Astronauts" pose for photos outside Folsom stadium at the University of Colorado (Boulder), during the eclipse viewing party on May 20, 2012.
A visitor uses eclipse glasses to photograph the sun during the eclipse viewing party at Folsom Stadium, University of Colorado (Boulder), on May 20, 2012.
The solar eclipse is displayed on the scoreboard at Folsom Stadium at the University of Colorado (Boulder) during the eclipse viewing party on May 20, 2012.
SLOOH Space Camera's view of the solar eclipse on May 20, 2012, in California.
SLOOH Space Camera's view of the solar eclipse on May 20, 2012, in New Mexico.
This image taken by the Hinode satellite shows the annular solar eclipse at its maximum on May 20, 2012.
This map shows the path of 'annularity,' with maximum eclipse (p.m., local time) for sites along the path. Areas outside the path of annularity will see a partial eclipse.
Nearly all North America gets at least a partial eclipse on May 20th, with the Moon taking a big bite out of the Sun. The eclipse will still be in progress at sunset for much of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
This NASA graphic depicts the path of best viewing for the annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012.
This NASA graphic of the United States depicts the path of the annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012, when the moon will cover about 94 percent of the sun's surface as seen from Earth.
This NASA graphic of the western United States depicts the path of the annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012, when the moon will cover about 94 percent of the sun's surface as seen from Earth.
