Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: When the dark shadow of the Moon raced across North America on April 8 sky watchers along the shadow's narrow central path were treated to a total solar eclipse. During the New Moon's shadow play a diamond ring glistened twice in the eclipse-darkened skies, but only for a moment. The transient celestial jewels appear immediately before and after the total eclipse phase. That's when the rays of a vanishing and then emerging siver of solar disk are just visible behind the silhouetted Moon's edge, like a shiny jewel set in a dark ring. This dramatic timelapse composite from north-central Arkansas captures both diamond ring moments of this total solar eclipse, along with the ethereal beauty of the solar corona visible during totality.