image

Total solar eclipse of 8th April 2024 from Van Wert, Ohio, USA. The Sun's inner corona (atmosphere, white) is visible around the disc of the Moon. Also visible are prominences (pink), which are loops of plasma extending from the Sun's surface. Solar eclipses occur when the Moon passes across the Sun as seen from Earth. This eclipse tracked a narrow band across North America from Mexico's Pacific Coast, north east over the contiguous United States to Southern Ontario, Canada, and the coast of Newfoundland. Solar eclipses usually occur less than once a year, and can only be seen from a small area of the Earth's surface. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/JIM WEST)