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.

2024 April 13
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Palm Tree Partial Eclipse
Image Credit & Copyright: Lori Haffelt

Explanation: Only those along the narrow track of the Moon's shadow on April 8 saw a total solar eclipse. But most of North America still saw a partial eclipse of the Sun. From Clearwater, Florida, USA this single snapshot captured multiple images of that more widely viewed celestial event without observing the Sun directly. In the shade of a palm tree, criss-crossing fronds are projecting recognizable eclipse images on the ground, pinhole camera style. In Clearwater the maximum eclipse phase was about 53 percent.

Solar Eclipse Imagery: Notable Submissions to APOD
Tomorrow's picture: Sunday's Childe


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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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