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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Baily's Beads near Solar Eclipse Totality
NASA ^ | November 11, 2012 | (see photo credit)

Posted on 11/11/2012 4:47:17 AM PST by SunkenCiv

Explanation: Just before the Sun blacks out, something strange occurs. As the Moon moves to completely cover the Sun in a total solar eclipse -- like the one set to occur over parts of Australia on Tuesday -- beads of bright sunlight stream around the edge of the Moon. This effect, known as Baily's beads, is named after Francis Baily who called attention to the phenomenon in 1836. Although, the number and brightness of Baily's beads used to be unpredictable, today the Moon is so well mapped that general features regarding Baily's beads are expected. When a single bead dominates, it is called the diamond ring effect, and is typically seen just before totality. Pictured above, horizontally compressed, a series of images recorded Baily's beads at times surrounding the 2008 total solar eclipse visible from Novosibirsk, Russia. At the end of totality, as the Sun again emerges from behind the moon, Baily's beads may again be visible -- but now on the other side of the Moon.

November 11, 2012

(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; bailysbeads; science
[Credit & Copyright: Leonid Durman]

1 posted on 11/11/2012 4:47:29 AM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; married21; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; ...

2 posted on 11/11/2012 4:50:05 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv

have no idea what the picture is, i dont see the beads or the diamond. help me?


3 posted on 11/11/2012 5:39:12 AM PST by beebuster2000
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To: SunkenCiv
Baily's Beads near Solar Eclipse Totality

"That sounds sexist, man."

4 posted on 11/11/2012 5:57:52 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: beebuster2000
It looks like a Slinky™ at first. It's a timelapse of the last lunar eclipse, and shows the little "beads" of light that peek through various landscape features on the lunar surface. :')
5 posted on 11/11/2012 7:02:18 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv
Oooooh! A diamond ring! Sorry, Civ. I'm already married.

</silly>

That really is a stunning picture. I had never heard of Baily's beads before, so it's nice to know about them. Goodness gracious! They were discovered in 1836, no less.

6 posted on 11/11/2012 11:14:44 AM PST by TheOldLady
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To: beebuster2000

Click on the picture in the OP. That will open the APOD tab with the same picture. Click on that, and another tab will open to show the original picture. Click on that, and an enlarged version will appear where you can see the beads. They’re mostly on the left side of the picture.


7 posted on 11/11/2012 11:56:45 AM PST by TheOldLady
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