Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2012 November 13
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A Solar Eclipse Quilt
Credit & Copyright: Sherry Winkelman (CXC)

Explanation: Some people are so inspired by solar eclipses that they quilt. Pictured above is a resulting textile from one such inspiration. The 38x38 inch quilt offers impressions of a total annular eclipse, when the Moon is too far from the Earth to cover the entire Sun, witnessed in Spain in October of 2005. Today, however, a full total solar eclipse will occur, although it will only be visible to eclipse chasers and those who live in a thin swath of Australia. For a few minutes, those near the center of the eclipse path will see the entire Sun blocked by the Moon, causing the day to become unusually dark. Just before -- and just after -- totality occurs, sunlight may stream between mountains on the Moon's edge creating a diamond ring effect. The next total eclipse of the Sun will occur in November 2013.

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