These Total Solar Eclipse Pictures Are Absolutely Stunning

The United States has just witnessed its first total solar eclipse in almost a century with millions turning out to watch the spectacle.

Starting on the east coast in Oregon at around 6:20PM GMT and moving westward towards South Carolina, millions turned out to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon that lasts for just a few minutes.

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With NASA letting the rest of the world view the eclipse via its livestream it was down to the millions watching in person to capture the best images they could and it’s fair to say that they certainly haven’t disappointed.

Here are some of the best images from the US Total Solar Eclipse:

What is a total solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse takes place when the Moon’s orbit places it directly between the Earth and the Sun.

This is different to a lunar eclipse which takes place when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon.

A solar eclipse creates two large shadows: The umbra and the penumbra.

As it reaches Earth the umbra will get smaller, creating a dark spot, this is the total solar eclipse. The penumbra on the other hand gets larger, covering huge swathes of the planet with a partial solar eclipse.

The last total solar eclipse took place in Indonesia in 2016, you can see the stunning photos from that event here:

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