If the Moon were in a perfectly circular orbit and in the same orbital plane as Earth, there would be total solar eclipses once a month, at every new moon. Instead, because the Moon's orbit is tilted at about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit, its shadow usually misses Earth. Solar (and lunar) eclipses therefore happen only during eclipse seasons, resulting in at least two, and up to five, solar eclipses each year, no more than two of which can be total.

Total eclipses are rarer because they require a more precise alignment between the centers of the Sun and Moon, and because the Moon's apparent size in the sky is sometimes too small to fully cover the Sun.

An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon covers the Sun's center, leaving the Sun's visible outer edges to form a "ring of fire" or annulus around the Moon. Observing such an eclipse in H-alpha light, which is a specific spectral line of hydrogen, can provide valuable insights into the Sun's chromosphere and prominences.

For the October 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse, this H-alpha view highlights the chromospheric features and prominences. Observers using specialized solar telescopes equipped with H-alpha filters would have been able to see the eclipse with more details and observe any solar prominences that were present during the eclipse.

Image Description and Details : I wanted to share this photograph taken during the last total solar eclipse on December 14th.During the last total solar eclipse, in La Lobería, Río Negro, Argentina, on the edge of the South Atlantic and its immense cliffs, which helped to compose the image that I present here, 4 planets could be observed with the naked eye, some stars, and others could be captured with a long exposure photograph. The photography is the result of a composition of two images, one with a long exposure to capture the stars (where the eclipse was overexposed) and the other with a short exposure (with the eclipse well exposed).Cámera: Canon T3Lens: Tokina 11-16, in 11 mm F: 7.1 / 5.6ISO: 200 / 3200Exposure: 2 shots: 10 seconds and 1/20 seconds Software: Photoshop.



Copyright: Cristian López