Spectacular photos from Australian eclipse

Added by Erik West on November 14, 2012

The total solar eclipse of 2012 on Wednesday, with best viewing in northern Australia, provided amateur and professional observers with spectacular views of the event with many photos and videos now available on the internet.

The total solar eclipse began at 20:35 UTC/GMT on Tuesday – just after dawn Wednesday local time over the county’s northern territory. The moon’s shadow crossed the Gulf of Carpentaria, into the state of Queensland, and headed out into the Pacific Ocean.

Totality as seen from Cairns, just after dawn – Photo credit: NASA

Another spectacular view at totality as seen from Cairns – Photo credit: NASA

 

Shadow of the moon on the surface of earth – Photo credit: NASA

 

Moon passing in front of the sun with sunspots visible as seen from Coomera, Queensland, Australia – Photo credit: (c) K Davis

 

Eclipse at totality as seen from Mulligan Highway, Queensland, Australia – Photo credit: Phil Hart

 

Clouds obscured the view of the eclipse for some observers, with others having a view obscured by semi-transparent clouds as seen from Lakeland Downs, Queensland, Australia. Photo credit -Alan Dyer

 

“We were at a site well north of the centreline, near Lakeland Downs, on the Mulligan Highway Development Road, thus the asymmetric diamond rings…we saw 1m 28s of totality but under skies hampered only by some thin cirrus cloud. No worries about dark obscuring clouds for us!” wrote Dyer.

Eclipse as seen from La Serena, Chile – Photo credit: Emilio Lepeley

“Today total eclipse was just partial but nice, only had a narrow window in the evening…in silhouette you can see the giant cross of the third millennium, in Coquimbo, Chile,” explained Lepeley.

The last total solar eclipse of the 21st century seen in Australia, was in December 2002, with the next expected on July 22 2028. The next total eclipse visible outside Australia is expected on March 20 2015 – visible from the North Pole.