A group of 74 astronomers and eclipse enthusiasts captured images of Sunday's total solar eclipse from a flight over the Antarctic.

"Eclipse veterans on board said it was the best ever," said J. Kelly Beatty, executive editor of the magazine, who e-mailed his comments back to America. "We have a lot of very happy people this morning!"

Here's how one photo (top at right) of the Nov. 23 eclipse, taken by Sky & Telescope senior editor Dennis di Cicco, was described:

"The onset of totality is marked by the 'diamond ring' effect as the Moon has covered the entire face of the Sun except for a lone bead of sunlight shining through a deep valley on the lunar limb. The solar corona, a softly glowing, million-degree plasma, is just coming into view around the Moon's silhouette. Note the bright prominence at upper right, a finger of hot gas glowing in the red light of the hydrogen atom."

The total eclipse was visible only along a narrow track that crossed Antarctica. A partial eclipse was visible from the tip of South American and parts of Australia and New Zealand.

The jet intercepted the eclipse at 6:06 p.m. ET at an altitude of 38,000 feet. The Sun was 12 degrees above the horizon and visible directly off the aircraft's left wing. The entire flight was 14-hours long and left from Punta Arenas, Chile. [Eclipse Calendar]