This collage of images shows the last few seconds leading up to totality of the 2017-08-21 total solar eclipse. As the moon just about completely covers the Sun, bits of the photosphere shine through valleys between mountains on the edge of the moon, creating a chain of bright spots known as Baily’s Beads. For a few brief seconds after the photosphere is completely covered, the magenta chromosphere peeks out from behind the moon as a very thin crescent. Ultimately this gives way to totality, revealing the inner corona and solar prominences in the image at far right.

Celestron Super C8 Plus with f/6.3 focal reducer and Canon EOS 60D S R camera. Exposures: 1/4000 second and 1/2000 second.

This image was published on the cover and the pages of the book Your Guide to the 2024 Solar Eclipse by Michael E. Bakich and also in the April, 2024 issue of Astronomy Magazine.