Solar Eclipse (Partial)

A partial solar eclipse photographed by Pete Lawrence, with a plain explanation of why eclipses happen.

Target details

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth and hides some or all of the Sun's disc. That can only happen at new moon, when the Sun and Moon line up in the sky. In a total eclipse the Sun is completely covered; in partial and annular eclipses only part of it is. If the Moon orbited in exactly the same plane as Earth, we'd see an eclipse every month, but its orbit is tilted by more than 5°, so at most new moons its shadow misses Earth.

Capture details

This single image, showing a partial solar eclipse, was taken in Belfast using a DSLR and tripod on 21st February, 2015.

Equipment details

Nikon d7100 Nikon 55-300mm lens
Neutral Density Filters

Processing details

This image was processed in Lightroom.