Planning, uncertainty, a last-minute road trip and elation in the battle against cloud cover. Malaysian photographer Tharuman Gnanamoorthy set off on a personal mission to capture the March 3 Blood Moon total lunar eclipse.

Gnanamoorthy's stunning composite photos document the mesmerizing beauty of the orange-red full moon as it rose fully eclipsed over the eastern coast of Malaysia, along with the waning partial phases that followed as Earth's shadow slipped from its ancient surface. They represent the culmination of weeks of planning, skill and luck, which may never have come to fruition had a single decision fallen the wrong way.

"This eclipse was a particularly meaningful experience for me, shaped as much by the challenges on the ground as by the celestial event itself," Gnanamoorthy told Space.com in an email. The weeks leading up to the event had seen Gnanamoorthy rehearsing the workflow for his dual-imaging setup from his home in the Seremban region of the Malay Peninsula, where he works as a paediatrician.

Gnanamoorthy kept a watchful eye on the weather forecast as the eclipse drew closer, tracking cloud fronts that could make or break his expedition. "At one point, I even experimented with trying to "train" my Seestar S50 to detect the moon through cloud cover — an attempt that, unsurprisingly, proved futile," lamented Gnanamoorthy.

He had initially planned to pack up his equipment and embark on a 280-mile (450-kilometer) trip north to the western coastal city of Alor Setar in the state of Kedah, after using Google Earth and Photopills to meticulously plan the shoot.

His goal was to capture the blood moon as it rose fully immersed in Earth's shadow at sunset on March 3, as our planet passed between the sun and moon during the climactic phase of the total lunar eclipse. During this phase, also known as totality, light filtered by Earth's atmosphere would be bent onto the lunar disk, turning it a bloody red hue.

As the day of the eclipse dawned, the weather over Alor Setar deteriorated, forcing Gnanamoorthy to abandon his original plan in favor of a new destination on the eastern shoreline of the peninsula, close to the city of Kota Bharu, 310 miles (500 km) to the north. With luck, he would find a spot with a clear view of the moon as it rose, eclipsed over the South China Sea, and hope that clouds didn't arrive to ruin the show.

"Faced with this uncertainty, I made a last-minute decision to drive across the country," recalled Gnanamoorthy. "The journey took more than seven hours, cutting across the peninsula with little room for delay. I needed to arrive before sunset to scout for a suitable location and set up my equipment."

Gnanamoorthy would use a Sony A7 III mirrorless camera paired with a 300 mm telephoto lens and a Seestar S50 smart telescope to capture the scene. The mirrorless camera was used to snap bracketed exposures — where the same scene is imaged with a variety of exposure durations — while the smart telescope was tasked with capturing RAW footage of the eclipse.

"I eventually settled on a stretch of coastline at Pantai Pak Amat, just outside Kota Bharu, with a clear eastern horizon over the South China Sea," explained Gnanamoorthy. "Conditions were not perfect — low clouds still hugged the horizon — but they were far more promising than those on the west coast."

Gnanamoorthy waited alone on the deserted beach as the appointed moment of moonrise came and went, hidden behind an impenetrable barrier of cloud that had settled low on the horizon.

Emotions rose as the fleeting phase of totality continued to ebb away with the moon lost from sight behind a veil of clouds. Finally, a little over 30 minutes after moonrise, the clouds parted, revealing the lunar disk as it passed through the deepest section of our planet's shadow, while bathed in the orange-red light of every sunrise and sunset on Earth.

"It was an incredible moment," recounted Gnanamoorthy. "For a brief instant, I simply stood there, stunned. Then instinct took over. I moved quickly between both systems, following the imaging workflow I had rehearsed."

The payoff was spectacular.

Gnanamoorthy combined the bracketed images captured using the Sony A7III with footage from the Seestar S50 in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom to create gorgeous compositions that chronicled the blood moon's transformation from rusty crimson back to its usual silvery lustre.

"One unexpected aspect of the experience came afterward," said Gnanamoorthy. "I later discovered that Pantai Pak Amat is historically significant — it marks the landing site of Japanese forces in Malaya on December 8, 1941. I returned the following morning to photograph the monument, along with the rising Milky Way core above the same coastline."

Inspired to begin your own astrophotography journey? Then be sure to read our guides to imaging the lunar surface and capturing the night sky. Don't forget to also peruse our roundups of the best cameras and lenses available in 2026 if you're new to photography, or simply want to upgrade your equipment.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Satellites have captured incredible views of the Feb. 17 annular solar eclipse as the moon's shadow swept across a remote region of Antarctica, while at the same time a U.S. weather satellite captured the silhouette of Earth's satellite as it traversed across the face of the sun.

An annular solar eclipse takes place when the moon — at a distant point in its elliptical orbit — passes between the sun and Earth, blocking the vast majority of its surface while leaving a thin sliver of its outer disk visible to appear as a burning halo in the sky.

Sadly, the only humans on hand to see the full glory of the Feb. 17 "ring of fire" eclipse were those who were crewing isolated research stations in a 383-mile-wide (616 kilometer) swathe of Antarctica.

Thankfully for us in warmer locations, a number of satellites were able to witness the enormity of the event from orbit, including spacecraft from the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat), which captured imagery of the moon's shadow (above) as it swept over the frozen continent.

The moon's immense shadow was also spied by South Korea's GEO-KOMPSAT-2A weather satellite from its perch 22,370 miles (36,000 km) above Earth in geostationary orbit, close to the shadowy line of the night-day terminator.

NOAA's GOES-19 satellite captured a different perspective as it stared directly into the sun using its Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) instrument from high above Earth. Bright looping structures can be seen playing throughout the sun's atmosphere in the ultraviolet realm of the electromagnetic spectrum as plasma is shaped by our star's strong magnetic field while the moon's silhouette roams left-to-right across the solar disk.

Solar eclipses don't occur in isolation, but rather as the opening — or sometimes closing — act of a two-part eclipse "season". The second half of this current orbital ballet will occur on March 3, when our planet slips between the sun and moon, bathing the latter with sunlight that has been filtered and scattered by Earth's atmosphere to give rise to a dramatic "blood moon" total lunar eclipse.

Totality will be visible to approximately 2.5 billion people spread throughout Australia, New Zealand, East Asia, parts of the Pacific and North America, the latter of which will get to see the moon slip into the deepest part of Earth's shadow as it slips below the horizon at sunrise.

Then, on Aug. 12, stargazers in Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, Spain and Russia will be treated to a dramatic total solar eclipse — where the moon briefly hides the entirety of the solar surface in the path of totality — while hundreds of millions elsewhere will witness a lesser partial eclipse.

Hoping to see the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse for yourself? Then be sure to read our top tips and travel advice for planning an eclipse trip along with our picks of the best solar viewing gear and guidance on how to check and safely use eclipse glasses.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your eclipse photography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

North America is about to experience a dramatic lunar eclipse as the "Blood Moon" eclipse turns the moon blood red overnight tonight (March 13-14).

That means skywatchers around the globe are anticipating a flood of incredible lunar images over the next few days. However, the boom in AI image generation and the availability of photo editing software mean that fake images are easier to create than ever. That means lunarphiles face a challenge: How can they sort the real deal eclipse images from the fakes?

No worries — Space.com has your six! We've teamed up with Catalina Sky Survey scientist, asteroid hunter, and RankinStudio astrophotographer David Rankin to help you spot the fakes this eclipse season!

"Fake images are definitely on the rise. Faking images in tools like Photoshop used to take a lot of skill. It's very easy to do now with the assistance of AI-generated graphics," Rankin told Space.com. "This isn't just impacting astronomy but every area of photography from landscape to modeling, to wildlife, and more.

"People are desperate for likes and recognition, so they are willing to engage in editing techniques that I think go past basic image manipulation and into the realm of fantasy artwork."

Rankin explained that these images often get passed off as "photographs," which can impact real astrophotographers and fool the public.

"I have been a photographer for many years, and it can be a pretty competitive business. There are always people out there trying to push the envelope, and oftentimes it gets pushed too far," he said. "I think it's important that if we are passing images off to fans as 'photography,' those images are rooted in reality, not fantasy."

Tip 1: Fakers 'go big!'

While we space fans know that the moon is spectacular in all of its guises, if you were creating a fake image of our lunar buddy, then you might be inclined to exaggerate its proportions somewhat.

A vast, dominating moon can be one of the easiest ways of distinguishing a fake image, especially if you have landmarks to use as a guide.

"There are obvious tells and less obvious tells. If at first glance the moon appears larger than you've ever seen it relative to the foreground or sky, it probably has been scaled up," Ranking said. "This was the most common manipulation I found when digging into fake Lunar eclipse images.

"When you shoot wider, say at 20-50mm, the moon just doesn't appear large in the image, so people are tempted to scale it up."

Tip 2: Look to the stars!

Let's say there are no manmade landmarks to look to to assess the size of the moon. What do you do then? No worries; the cosmos has you covered.

You can check the angular size of the moon in relation to background stars to determine whether an image has been tampered with or is a composite (i.e., a genuine image of the moon has been dropped into an image of the sky in which it was originally absent).

"Unfortunately, no matter what focal length you shoot at, it is an astronomical fact that the moon doesn't occupy much more than around 1/2 a degree against the night sky," Rankin added. "It is very easy to show images have been manipulated when the moon is presented at many degrees wide relative to the stars on the sky."

Tip 3: What are you doing here?

Another noticeable sign of a fake image is when the moon is placed in an area of the sky where it just doesn't go.

For example, Rankin said the moon right next to the Big Dipper asterism is a sure sign of fakery.

This is even easier for an event like a total lunar eclipse rather than a full moon, as these latter events can only be seen in select regions of the globe.

For instance, this event is only visible from North America. If you see a constellation or asterism in an eclipse image that wasn't visible over North America on Thursday night/ Friday morning (or whenever that eclipse occurred), you are clearly looking at a fake!

Of course, we can't all be adept at identifying constellations and asterisms and pinpointing their locations in the sky at any given time. Fortunately, Astrometry.net can be used to do this without the fuss.

Input an image into the site, and it provides you with astrometric calibration data and lists of known objects falling inside the field of view, helping to crack down on fakes!

Tip 4: Go deeper!

Astrophotographers are generally a pretty proud bunch, and so they should be. This means that when they share an image, they usually give information about when and where that image was taken. Often, they will also be happy to share details of the equipment they used to capture that image.

If this info is missing from an image, say when it is shared on social media, you could always ask the photographers.

One issue that is more common with full moon images than those of eclipses, which are pretty unique, is the publication of an old image that can be mistaken for one recently taken.

One way of determining if an image is actually an older picture taken during a different full moon is to run it through a Google image search to see if it has been published before.

Tip 5: Don't trust social media!

This isn't going to come as much of a surprise to most readers, but you can't really trust what you see and read on social media.

This isn't foolproof, but you can check that the account you see images on is legitimate and an official account of the organisation or person whose name it bears.

This doesn't guarantee that you are seeing a genuine image, but if that organisation has a good reputation and some scientific credibility, like NASA or the European Space Agency (ESA), then it's more likely that its images will be the genuine article.

Also, those types of organisations are likely to have sites of their own. Check if images are replicated there, and you may find more of the details listed above, like where and when the images were captured, to help verify their authenticity.

"I think social media sites do a really poor job of highlighting faked images, and it is in their best interest not to do it," Rankin said. "Social media platforms are driven by traffic and ads. If an AI video or image gets more traffic than a real one, that means more money for them.

"It is akin to the spread of disinformation in my mind, and as we have seen in the past, social media companies don't seem to care much about combating it. I think this is a disaster, and it erodes the bedrock of reality in favor of fantasy and conspiracy."

Tip 6: Do it yourself!

The easiest way to ensure that eclipse photos, or images of any other astronomical event, are the real deal is to take them yourself!

While it might be too late to get out and catch this lunar eclipse, Space.com has a guide that will help you set out on this astrophotography journey for yourself.

Even if you miss the Blood Moon, you could get the chance to follow some of the advice in this guide when the partial solar eclipse rolls around in September 2025.

If you want to get a closer look at the moon during lunar eclipses or at any other time, check out our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars.

Astrophotographer Rankin intends to take this Blood Moon total eclipse a little easier than usual and enjoy the spectacle.

"I plan to at least go watch the total lunar eclipse," he concluded. "I think eclipses are beautiful to view and I've shot many of them.

"Sometimes it's nice to just take the photons into your retinas and not try to capture every single thing in digital format, though."

Rankin gives examples of some of the eclipse photos he has debunked on his website.

Editor's note: If you snap a great picture of the moon during March's total lunar eclipse, and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com

Amazing Images

A total solar eclipse crossed the U.S. on Aug. 21, 2017, wowing skywatchers from Oregon to South Carolina. Here are amazing images of previous solar eclipses worldwide.

Shown here, only a small portion of the sun's disk is visible behind the moon, during the seconds before totality on Nov. 14, 2012. This total solar eclipse was photographed from Palm Cove, Australia. Thousands of eclipse-watchers gathered in a part of North Queensland to enjoy the solar eclipse.

Lunar Transit

On Jan. 30, 2014, the moon moved between NASA's space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, and the sun, giving the observatory a view of a lunar transit from space. SDO captures a lunar transit two to three times each year. Partial solar eclipses are also visible from Earth two to three times per year on average, but total solar eclipses are only visible from Earth about once every 18 months, and are visible over a much smaller area. This lunar transit lasted for 2.5 hours, which is the longest the spacecraft has ever recorded.

Hinode Sun-Observing Satellite

A screen capture from video taken by the Hinode sun-observing satellite on Nov. 13, 2012, showing a partial solar eclipse that was also visible on the ground. The spacecraft — a joint effort between NASA and Japanese Aerospace Agency JAXA — viewed the eclipse on two of its orbits that day.

2012 Solar Eclipse

This screen capture from video taken by the Hinode satellite shows the spacecraft's first view of the Nov. 13, 2012, solar eclipse. Following this observation, the spacecraft orbited around the Earth, and made it back in time to see the eclipse again.

Annular Solar Eclipse from Tiananmen Square

The moon begins to obstruct the disk of the sun during an annular solar eclipse seen from Tiananmen Square on Jan. 15, 2010, in Shenyang, Liaoning Province of China. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon is far away from the Earth in its orbit, causing it to appear smaller in the sky; the reduced size means the moon cannot completely cover the disk of the sun, and a thin ring of the sun's disk (a "ring of fire") remains visible around the edge of the moon. The eclipse, which first became visible in Tamil Nadu city of Kanyakumari, is predicted to be the longest annular eclipse between the years 2000 and 3000 (although a slightly longer annular eclipse took place in 1955).

Partial Solar Eclipse in Gaza City, Gaza Strip

This partial solar eclipse was photographed on March 29, 2006, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. A partial eclipse occurs when sun and moon are not exactly in line, and the moon only partially obscures the sun.

Total Solar Eclipse from Iwo Jima, Japan

The July 22, 2009, total solar eclipse, as seen from Iwo Jima, Japan. The longest total eclipse of the sun of this century, the event triggered tourist fever in Asia as astronomy enthusiasts flocked to watch the moon cover the disk of the sun. The eclipse was visible from within a narrow corridor that began in India and crossed through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China (including Shanghai), but passed south of most of Japan.

Total Solar Eclipse from Harvard College Observatory

This snapshot by the Harvard College Observatory captures the total solar eclipse of March 7, 1970. The eclipse was visible along parts of the U.S. East Coast, from Delaware to Florida.

Sun Spots

Sun spots can be seen in this image that captures the moon moving across the face of the sun during an annular eclipse on May 20, 2012. The eclipse was visible in Tokyo; the shadow then traveled across the Pacific Ocean and all the way to Texas.

Annular Solar Eclipse from Tokyo

A crescent of light from the disk of the sun is visible behind the moon during the annular Solar Eclipse of May 21, 2012, seen from Tokyo.

Ring of Fire

The "ring of fire" created by the sun's surface surrounds the moon during the annular solar eclipse observed on May 21, 2012, in Tokyo.

Annular Cclipse from Grand Canyon National Park

The annular eclipse of May 20, 2012, photographed from Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Differing from a total solar eclipse, the moon in an annular eclipse appears too small to cover the sun completely, leaving a "ring of fire" around the moon.

Sun Spots

Sun spots are visible in this snapshot during the annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012, viewed from Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.

Partial Solar Eclipse from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

In this composite image, the moon passes between the sun and the Earth to create a partial solar eclipse on March 20, 2015, viewed from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Total Solar Eclipse in Palm Cove, Australia

Totality is seen during the solar eclipse on Nov. 14, 2012, in Palm Cove, Australia.

Totality in Palm Cove

Totality, or the time when the moon completely covers the disk of the sun, is seen here during the total solar eclipse of Nov. 14, 2012, from Palm Cove, Australia.

Total Solar Eclipse in Palm Cove, Australia

The solar eclipse of Nov. 14, 2012, is seen nearing totality from Palm Cove, Australia.

Near Totality in Palm Cove

The total solar eclipse of Nov. 14, 2012, near totality in this image from Palm Cove, Australia.

Moment of Totality

The sky darkens similar to twilight during the moment of totality, captured in this photo on Nov. 14, 2012, in Palm Cove, Australia.

Moon Shadow

The moon's shadow begins to drape across the landscape moments before totality in this image of the Nov. 14, 2012, total solar eclipse, taken in Palm Cove, Australia.

Partial Solar Eclipse in Arlington, Virgina

A partial solar eclipse is visible just before sunset on Oct. 23, 2014, in Arlington, Virginia.

Partial Solar Eclipse at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germay

The beginning of a partial solar eclipse on March 20, 2015, seen from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Partial Solar Eclipse at Munich, Germany

A dove photobombed this picture of the partial solar eclipse of March 20, 2015, in this image taken from Munich, Germany.

Partial Eclipse near Penzance, England

The moon crosses the sun causing a partial eclipse, viewed here above St. Michael's Mount on March 20, 2015, near Penzance, England.

Partial Solar Eclipse at Northampton, England

A partial solar eclipse is seen over Northamptonshire on March 20, 2015, in Northampton, England.

Totality at Palm Cove, Australia

Totality is seen during the solar eclipse on Nov. 14, 2012, in Palm Cove, Australia.

Total Solar Eclipse from Palembang

A total solar eclipse is seen from the city of Palembang on March 9, 2016, in Palembang, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The total solar eclipse was celebrated in the region with parties, colorful tribal rituals and Muslim prayers.

Moon Traversing the Sun

The Hinode satellite captured images of the moon traversing the face of the sun during a total solar eclipse of July 22, 2009. The path of the moon's umbral shadow began in India and crossed through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. A partial eclipse was seen over a much broader area that included most of eastern Asia, Indonesia and the Pacific Ocean.

Lunar Transit

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) saw a lunar transit — when the moon passes between the spacecraft and the sun — on Aug. 2, 2016, from 7:13 a.m. to 8:08 a.m. EDT. In this way, the SDO enjoys solar eclipses that are not always visible on Earth. Credit: NASA/SDO

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Solar Eclipse Viewed From Northern Tip of Australia

A total solar eclipse was visible from the Northern tip of Australia on Nov. 13, 2012.

Light Halo Visible in Total Solar Eclipse

A total solar eclipse was visible from the Northern tip of Australia on Nov. 13, 2012 at 3:35 EST. The light halo visible around the edges of the moon is the sun's atmosphere, the corona.

Light Halo Visible as Clouds Surround Total Solar Eclipse

A total solar eclipse was visible from the Northern tip of Australia on Nov. 13, 2012 at 3:35 EST. The light halo visible around the edges of the moon is the sun's atmosphere, the corona.

Clouds Obscure Solar Eclipse

Clouds obscure the total solar eclipse on Nov. 13, 2012.

Clouds Partially Hide Solar Eclipse

Clouds partially hide the solar eclipse on Nov. 13, 2012.

Observer Views Solar Eclipse From Northern Tip of Australia

Observer from the Northern tip of Australia views the solar eclipse, Nov. 13, 2012 at 3:35 (EST)

Solar Eclipse Seen by NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory

A total solar eclipse was visible from the northern tip of Australia on Nov. 13, 2012 at 3:35 EST. The light halo visible around the edges of the moon is the sun's atmosphere, the corona.

Solar Eclipse Over Palm Cove, Australia

The total solar eclipse of November 13-14,2012. The clouds cleared in time for observers at Palm Cove, Australia, to experience totality as the Moon totally obscured the Sun for around two minutes, revealing the Sun's bright corona.

Solar Eclipse From a Hot Air Balloon

SPACE.com reader Andrew Steel of Hot Air Balloon Cairns in Australia sent in this amazing photo of the eclipse taken on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST). He writes: "We had blue skies and great views of the full corona for the total solar eclipse from our hot air balloons." [See our full gallery.]

Eclipse Seen Over Cairns, Australia

SPACE.com reader Matt Burton sent in his photo of the solar eclipse taken from his backyard in Cairns, Australia, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Eclipse From the "Very Tip of Australia"

SPACE.com reader John Devine sent in this photo of the eclipse taken from the "very tip of Australia," Nov. 13, 2012 (EST). He says he added color "as it looks cool."

Full Corona Seen From a Hot Air Balloon

SPACE.com reader Andrew Steel of Hot Air Balloon Cairns in Australia sent in this photo of sun's full corona during the eclipse taken from a hot air balloon on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Eclipse Shot in Cairns, Australia

SPACE.com reader Benn Brown sent in his photo of the total solar eclipse shot in Cairns, Australia, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Proba-2 Sees Partial Solar Eclipse

ESA's Proba-2 satellite experienced 3 partial solar eclipses during the total solar eclipse of Nov. 13, 2012 (EST). This image is taken from a video made by the spacecraft.

Slooh Space Camera Shows the "Diamond Ring"

The Slooh Space Camera displayed the first "diamond ring" effect during the solar eclipse over Australia, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Solar Eclipse at Totality, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

The sun is totally eclipsed by the sun in Australia, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Sun at Totality During Eclipse, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

Slooh Space Camera's website displays the total solar eclipse over Australia on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

Guide to Solar Eclipses (Infographic)

How Solar Eclipses Work: When the moon covers up the sun, skywatchers delight in the opportunity to see a rare spectacle. See how solar eclipses occur in this Space.com infographic.

Eclipse Watchers

Eclipse watchers stand on a beach in Australia, awaiting the total solar eclipse of November 2012.

Setting Up for the Total Solar Eclipse

Observers set up for the total solar eclipse in Australia, Nov. 13, 2012.

Eclipse Set-Up

Observers set up their gear in anticipation of a total solar eclipse over Australia on Nov. 13, 2012.

Solar Eclipse Seen Through Clouds Over Palm Cove, Australia

The moon moves in the front of the sun, seen through clouds at Palm Cove, Australia, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Just-Risen Sun

The just-risen sun hangs over northern Australia at the very beginning of a solar eclipse on Nov. 13, 2012. The sun will reach totality about an hour after this photo was taken.

Total Solar Eclipse Begins, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

The Slooh Space Camera showed the total solar eclipse just beginning on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST), as viewed from Australia.

Solar Eclipse First Contact

"First contact, woo hoo!" call the crowds from Australia as the moon first starts to obscure the corner of the sun during a total solar eclipse Nov. 13, 2012.

Partially-Eclipsed Sun

A partially eclipsed sun is shown via a telescope set up in Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia on Nov. 13, 2012. Clouds are blocking some of the sun's face as well.

Bite Out of the Sun

A view of the partially eclipsed sun from the Slooh Space Camera's feed based in Port Douglas, just north of Cairns, in Northern Australia on Nov. 13, 2012.

Moon Encroaching

The moon encroaches more and more onto the face of the sun, moving toward a total solar eclipse over Australia on Nov. 13, 2012.

Approaching Total Eclipse, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

The sun approaches total eclipse in Australia on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

About Three Minutes from Totality

The sun about 3 minutes from total eclipse in Palm Cove, Australia, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Total Solar Eclipse Over Australia on Nov 13, 2012 #2

The moon completely blocks the sun over Australia on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Solar Eclipse Past Totality, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

The moon uncovers part of the sun as the eclipse progressed on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Observers in Australia View the Solar Eclipse, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

Observers in Australia view the solar eclipse after totality, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

Solar Eclipse Further Past Totality, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

The moon slides further across the sun's face following the total eclipse, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

SLOOH Image of Solar Eclipse of Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

Slooh Space Camera's website displays the solar eclipse over Australia on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

Observers on Australian Beach View End of Eclipse

The total solar eclipse ends (see inset) for observers in Palm Cove, Australia, on Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Solar Eclipse Almost at Final Contact, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST)

The moon has passed almost completely over the sun's disk as seen from Australia, Nov. 13, 2012 (EST).

Path of the Total Eclipse, Nov. 13, 2012

Jay Anderson generated a series of detailed eclipse maps for the solar eclipse of Nov. 13, 2012.

Track of the Total Eclipse Over Australia, Nov. 13, 2012

Jay Anderson generated a series of detailed eclipse maps for the solar eclipse of Nov. 13, 2012.

Total Solar Eclipse Over Australia on Nov 13, 2012

This map shows the path of the total solar eclipse over Australia on Nov. 13, 2012.

Total Solar Eclipse from Sea

Astrophotographer Bob Hatfield took this image of the total solar eclipse on Nov. 14, 2012 from a cruise ship north of Douglas, Australia.