The Grand Finale

Do you remember watching the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse? For a short 4 minutes, Earth slipped into the shadow of the moon. The sky turned dark while the horizon basked in twilight. As totality ended and the diamond ring reappeared, the crowd cheered wildly. The “diamond” turned blindingly bright quickly. Darkness on Earth was replaced by the soft, golden glow of sunlight.

This composite of 16 individual frames, taken at one-second interval, captured the end of totality of the 2024 solar eclipse. The first 2 frames showed the last seconds of totality, the corona brightening as the moon inched towards the edge of the solar disc. In frame 3 the Bailey’s Beads emerged. The diamond ring appeared starting from frame 4 and grew in brightness.