In the Shadow of the Moon

As seen on Astronomy Picture of the Day, on 2019 July 2 denizens of planet Earth could stand in the Moon’s dark umbral shadow during a total solar eclipse in South America. It first touched down in the Southern Pacific Ocean, east of New Zealand. Racing toward the east along a narrow track, the shadow of the Moon made landfall along the Chilean coast with the Sun low on the western horizon. Captured in the foreground here are long shadows still cast by direct sunlight though, in the final moments before totality began. While diffraction spikes are from the camera lens aperture, the almost totally eclipsed Sun briefly shone like a beautiful diamond ring in the clear, darkened sky.