solar eclipse projections

Paul Pomeroy

This was taken during the eclipse on Sunday just a few minutes past its maximum here in southern Arizona. All the "spots of sunlight" filtering through the leaves of the trees resulted in hundreds of eclipse images (a crescent sun mostly blocked out by the moon). I have never seen this effect before and might not have even noticed it had I not just read something about it a day earlier. What is happening is that the small gaps between leaves are acting like pinhole lenses that focus the sun's image on surfaces in the sunlight's path. This happens all the time, of course, but is only something we notice as special when the apparent shape of the sun is not round.

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