Eclipse In The Shade
Credit and Copyright:
E. Israel
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.