August 13, 1999
You are a way for the cosmos to know itself, Carl Sagan once said. On your birthday, the cosmos got to know itself a little better.
Eclipse In The Shade
Birthday · August 13, 1999
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published August 13, 1999. Credit: E. Israel. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Near the shadow of the moon under a shady tree, dozens of images of a 1994 solar eclipse in progress are visible in this striking picture from the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. What creates the multiple images? Any small gap between leaves can act like a pin-hole camera, projecting a discernible image of the crescent sun onto the shaded sidewalk below. This tree's height and multitude of leaves combine dramatically to produce the large size and number of images. On August 11, many throughout Europe and Asia had the chance to enjoy similar views of the last total solar eclipse of the millennium as the moon's shadow raced across densely populated regions of the globe.
Image credit: E. Israel