Stunning Timelapse of a Total Solar Eclipse in 2012

To celebrate the upcoming total solar eclipse taking place on August 21st, videographer and artist Scott A. Stevenson (a.k.a. “WorldScott“) created a stunning timelapse video featuring three phases of a solar eclipse that took place in November 2012.

Shot in November, 2012 near Cairns, Australia a total of 1,990 images in ultra high definition were taken over the course of a few hours from two camera equipped telescopes. These images were then combined into one video. Totality itself was recorded in 507 images during 2 minutes (the duration of totality for this eclipse).

The first phase is partial due to the sun being blocked from view behind a mountain during sunrise. What is seen is the moon moving in front of the sun until it is perfectly aligned to completely block out its disc of light. During totality we can see the sun’s corona which appears as a halo around the shadowed disc. We can also see solar prominences as bright pinkish spots extending from the perimeter of the eclipse. (read more)