September 7, 2016
The cosmos has been expanding since the beginning of time, making room for galaxies, for stars, for planets — and ultimately, for you.
Eclipse to Sunset
Birthday · September 7, 2016
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published September 7, 2016. Credit: Luc Perrot. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
September's eclipse of the Sun is documented in the 68 frames of this timelapse composite. Starting at 1pm local time a frame every 4 minutes follow's the progress of the New Moon across the solar disk. Taken near the centerline of the narrow eclipse path, the series of exposures ends with a golden sunset. Balanced rock cairns in the foreground line a beach on the southern side of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, near the village of Etang-Salé. Of course, the close balance in apparent size creates drama in eclipses of the Sun by the Moon as seen from planet Earth. In an annular eclipse, the Moon's silhouette is just small enough to show the solar disk as a narrow ring-of-fire at maximum eclipse phase.
Image credit: Luc Perrot