When all of the photosphere is covered except perhaps a few Baily’s Beads peeking through a valley on the edge of the moon, a phenomenon of total solar eclipses known as the diamond ring effect occurs. The Baily’s Beads constitute the diamond and the inner corona begins to shine around the remainder of the moon, constituting the ring. The diamond ring occurs twice during each total solar eclipse, just before second contact and just after third contact.

Celestron Super C8 Plus with f/6.3 focal reducer/corrector. Canon EOS 60D S R camera. Exposure 1/2000 second.

This image was published in the book Your Guide to the 2024 Solar Eclipse by Michael E. Bakich.