Total solar eclipse. Crescent-shaped Sun seen through clouds during a total solar eclipse a few minutes from totality. Solar eclipses occur when the M

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Total solar eclipse. Crescent-shaped Sun seen through clouds during a total solar eclipse a few minutes from totality. Solar eclipses occur when the Moon passes across the Sun as seen from Earth. This only occurs at New Moon, and is most commonly a partial eclipse. When the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun, a total solar eclipse occurs. The Moon takes several hours to pass in front of the Sun, but the moment of totality lasts for only a few minutes and can sometimes be obscured by clouds. Total solar eclipses usually occur less than once a year, and can only be seen from a small area of the Earth's surface. Photographed on 11 August 1999, in Paris, France.

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Size: 3650px × 2402px
Photo credit: © OLIVIER SKYPALA/EURELIOS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 11, 11/08/1999, 1900s, 1990s, 1999, 20th, astronomical, astronomy, august, century, cloud, clouds, cloudy, crescent, eclipse, eclipsing, europe, european, france, french, moon, paris, sky, solar, space, sun, system, total, weather