Gallery 1 - Astronomical   >   Solar System   >   Eclipses   >   Sunset Eclipse

On May 20th, 2012, a solar eclipse of the sun occured. In Ottawa, where we live, the full eclipse couldn't be seen as the moon reached the sun's edge very near sunset. We decided to fly up to 8500 feet to get a better chance of seeing some of the partial phase of the eclipse.

Because we had flown up high, we were able to see about a half hour more than from the ground. One nice thing about an eclipse occuring at sunset, was that a solar filter was not needed and so made for more interesting shots. Here you can see the moon taking a bite out of the sun under the wing.

A few clouds and warm hazy atmosphere added to the effect.

As the sun got closer to the horizon, the hazy atmpsphere caused distortion. This effect is caused by atmospheric reflection. It looks like the sun is melting :-)

The strange shapes of the eclipsed sun made the scene look quite alien, one could almost imagine being on another planet.

This photo shows a hint of the elusive green flash on the top of the sun. Green flashes are rare optical phenomena that can occur shortly after sunset or before sunrise.

Clouds near the horizon covered the eclipsed part of the sun but you can still see it a little.

A very unusual sunset!