The mention of a total solar eclipse conjures up images of the Sun blocked by a black Moon with pearly white streamers radiating from it. The solar corona is the icon of any total solar eclipse and is what people strive to see, often traveling to remote regions of the world. This beautiful sight occurs at just the right moment of time when the Moon covers the Sun just enough to reveal the Sun’s atmosphere, the corona, displaying the delicate streamers. If the Moon is too small, the Sun is not completely covered resulting in a bright ring, or an annulus, an annular eclipse, often known as the Ring of Fire. The Sun is too bright to see the corona, even 99% eclipsed will not do. Fortunately, the Moon is never so near and large that it covers so much of the Sun that the corona can never be seen. The Moon is slowly moving away from Earth at the rate of 1.5 inches per year due to tides which means someday, probably hundreds of millions of years from now, total solar eclipses will be no more and will always be annular. We are living in a lucky era to witness such a beautiful celestial phenomenon. What makes it more interesting is that no two total solar eclipses are exactly alike, or more accurately, no two solar coronas are alike.

TThe corona is always hidden by the bright light of the Sun’s surface and it is extremely hot, but dim. This is because the corona is about ten million times less dense than the surface of the Sun. The low density makes it dimmer, but no less beautiful. It is still a mystery as to why the corona is much hotter than the surface of the Sun. What really makes a total solar eclipse so awesome besides the sudden onset of darkness and 360º twilight horizon glows are the magnetic fields that cover the surface of the Sun. The magnetic fields affect charged particles in the corona to form beautiful streamers, loops, and plumes. The corona extends far out into space creating the solar wind that travels through the Solar System. The corona’s high temperature causes its particles to move at very high speeds that can escape the Sun’s gravity. The other big feature that is often visible during a total solar eclipse are prominences. These are bright filaments attached to the Sun’s surface and extend outward. They form in about a day and can persist for months, looping hundreds of thousands of miles into space. The magenta-glowing material is plasma, a hot gas of hydrogen and helium giving it color. The plasma flows along the tangled and twisted structure of the magnetic field generated internally by the Sun. An erupting prominence occurs when the structure becomes unstable and bursts outward, revealing the plasma.

TI have witnessed three total solar eclipses during my lifetime, all exciting and different, each making unique and lasting memories. All three brought the rush of excitement, racing shadows, Baily’s Beads, diamond rings, coronas, the thrust into darkness, and the 360º horizon twilight glows, but it is the corona that draws attention. It is a strangely beautiful sight in the daytime sky that seems like it should not be possible and this excites the imagination. The first encounter with the corona came on February 26, 1998 on a hot and windy early afternoon at Colorado Point on the southern tip of Aruba. There was a perfect view of the turquoise Caribbean Sea to the west to watch the oncoming shadow. The morning of the eclipse was nice, but a deck of low clouds rolled in only an hour before first contact and there was a brief shower. It cleared up in time to see first contact but it was hot, 88º, with no complaints as there was a snowstorm raging back home. The odds for clear skies to see this eclipse was 75%. I finally felt more at ease as the clouds never returned in the dimming sunlight. The shadow was really dramatic rising out of the Caribbean Sea and arched up to the crescent Sun. The diamond ring was seen as darkness fell, not quite night, for 3 minutes 34 seconds. The Moon was the darkest spot in the sky where the Sun should be with the corona streaming out behind the Moon like a huge magnetic field of hundreds of white lines. The corona was a bit stretched, not quite round, but huge. I could never imagine anything like this! I saw a solar prominence peeking out from behind the Moon appearing like an orange seahorse. The twilight glow appeared in every direction, but almost too soon I saw a wave of orange daylight rise from the west. It met up with the eclipsed Sun and abruptly ended totality with a beautiful diamond ring that blew my mind away as daylight abruptly returned. The corona affected me, or maybe infected me. I had to see another eclipse and marked August 21, 2017, as my next chance since it would occur in the U.S.

TNothing could prepare me for the perfection of The Great American Eclipse of 2017. Everything went right for my mother and I as good luck shone on us like a solar corona. Santee, South Carolina was where we observed it, a favorite stop-over for our Disney World road trips. The Holiday Inn had rooms available when I called in January 2017. They were very accommodating with reasonable rates and a field next to the parking lot neatly mowed for the eclipse observers and their equipment. The odds for clear weather were 50/50. Since a tropical disturbance stayed far off the coast, the morning of the eclipse was beautiful. The entire eclipse unfolded that mid-afternoon with absolutely no anxiety about the weather in spite of 100º heat. Venus appeared when the Sun was about 75% eclipsed as the daylight softened and the glare disappeared. The shadow appeared out of nowhere in the west and darkness descended quickly into deep twilight with dramatic twilight glows along the horizon in every direction. The corona was impressive with long white streamers, but the added feature were several prominences peeking out from behind the Moon. The magenta color was rich and vibrant, so I was able to capture a few photos of them. Unlike Aruba, this was now the age of digital cameras and I was able to capture awesome photos of this unfolding eclipse that remain my best and only ones to this day. The corona appeared a bit more roundish compared to Aruba, but not perfect, giving it the appearance of a giant magnet attracting white iron filings. This eclipse ended way too fast, only 2 minutes 35 seconds, with a beautiful diamond ring. I see these best as totality is ending before I have to look away and it is convincing of its namesake. I had the added fun of sharing my experience with others in the hotel lobby; we all had beautiful memories and photos to cherish forever. I did not have to wait as long as for the next one as it would occur on April 8, 2024 and would be conveniently close to home.

TI was hyped up over The Great North American Eclipse as 2024 began. Even though the odds of seeing it were 50/50, I tried to improve it slightly by choosing Oswego, near the cold stabilizing waters of Lake Ontario that could suppress fair weather clouds provided no storm systems were around. As luck would have it the meteorologists could not lock onto a reliable forecast until only days before the eclipse. After a week of optimistic forecasts, a dying warm front was moving faster than expected with not enough time for the clouds to dry up and dissipate. The sunny morning was filled with high clouds that thickened as noon approached, but high and thin enough to allow a few breaks to follow the progress of the eclipse. It was a mild day, 63º, before the eclipse as I set up my equipment with my mother at Knights Inn in Oswego, but it would drop 10º after totality feeling noticeably chillier. The arrival of the shadow later that afternoon was accentuated by the clouds as it appeared to flow overhead like a wave and thrust us into darkness. As if by some kind of miracle, the totally eclipsed Sun appeared in a break in the clouds long enough to see it as a white cosmic flower with a dark center. The rays and glows made it seem like a flashlight shining down from the breaks in the clouds. The corona appeared more rounded, bright, and very memorable among the exceptionally dark scenery. The break did not last long enough to see the diamond ring, but several observers from different locations saw several prominences with an especially large one looking like a flame. Even though totality lasted 3 minutes 30 seconds, it ended too swiftly.

TIt might be a stretch goal to see the next big one in the mainland U.S. on August 12, 2045, but to be able to successfully witness three coronas in my lifetime is something not soon forgotten. Each one appeared different to me giving proof that our Sun is a dynamic, changing star, dangerous and at the same time life-giving. The brief moments of totality give that uneasy feeling of what the world would be like if the Sun was suddenly extinguished. We are very lucky to be on a sustainable life-bearing world at just the right distance from a stable star to experience total solar eclipses!