During a solar eclipse, the dark moon is seen to move in front of the solar disk until only a thin crescent is left.  At that instant it is worth while noting that all spots of light under a tree resemble crescents, large or small, bright or dim.

          M.G.J Minnaert, Light and Color inthe Outdoors

On August 21, 2017, my home in Durham, North Carolina was in the path of a solar eclipse. On that day, conditions were ideal for observing eclipse light effects: the sky was clear and deciduous trees offered dappled shade.  Wielding a camera and a sheet of white foamboard, I was able photograph crescent shaped light

U.S. Naval Observatory

Solar Eclipse of 2017 Aug. 21

Durham, North Carolina

(Longitude W 78°54’ 36.0”, Lat N 36° 0’ 0.0”, Height 1056 ft.)

Sun in Partial Eclipse at this Location

Eclipse Begins      1:15PM EDT

Maximum            2:43PM EDT

Eclipse Ends         4:05PM EDT

Duration:             2h49m 19.0s

Magnitude:          0.936

Obscuration:        92.6%

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