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[mmm4444bot]

My current avatar is the recent solar eclipse, as viewed from northern Arizona (through an old welding mask).

Clearly, we were not treated to a ring of fire from our location. Oddly, nearby New Mexico witnessed a great ring, as shown below in an image posted to MSN.





For us, the moon first crept in front of the sun's disk around the 5 o'clock position. It took about 20 minutes for the entire moon to appear.

But then, the motion sped up. For example, the two images below were taken only four minutes apart.





The moon eventually exited around the 11 o'clock position, again taking about 20 minutes to disappear.

 

[mmm4444bot]

As light from the eclipsed sun filtered through the trees, it created (at the "height" of the eclipse) the optical effect shown here.

These pictures show part of a westward-facing wall; the second image was taken 24 hours after the first, for reference.

 

[mmm4444bot]

While the moon was entirely in front of the sun, the refracted sunlight made our surroundings seem like pre-dawn. There was a blue-gray hue cast over everything.


The second image below was taken 24 hours after the first, to compare the difference between refracted and direct sunlight (at 6:40 pm).






:cool: