                        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 20

                             Diamonds in the Sky
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Wright Dobbs

   Explanation: When the dark shadow of the Moon raced across North
   America on April 8, sky watchers along the shadow's narrow central path
   were treated to a total solar eclipse. During the New Moon's shadow
   play diamonds glistened twice in the eclipse-darkened skies. The
   transient celestial jewels appeared immediately before and after the
   total eclipse phase. That's when the rays of a vanishing and then
   emerging sliver of solar disk are just visible behind the silhouetted
   Moon's edge, creating the appearance of a shiny diamond set in a dark
   ring. This dramatic timelapse composite from north-central Arkansas
   captures both diamond ring moments of this total solar eclipse. The
   diamond rings are separated by the ethereal beauty of the solar corona
   visible during totality.

                       Tomorrow's picture: perijove 16
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                   NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

