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The total solar eclipse of 2006 crossed northern Africa and central Asia. Among the many countries in the path, Libya, Egypt and Turkey attracted most eclipse chasers because of their favorable weather prospects and long duration of totality. NASA's 2006 total eclipse website has detailed predictions and maps of this remarkable event.
Gary Spears (Spears Travel) and I led an expedition to the northern desert of Libya for the eclipse. Our March 29th rendezvous with the Moon's shadow took place about 300 kilometers (200 miles) south of the Mediterranean coast, near a small city called Jalu. There in the desert, Nasser Edeeb and other Libyans had erected an amazing text city to accommodate several thousand eclipse observers.
Arriving less that 24 hours before totality, I had little time to explore our surroundings since I had much equipment to unpack, assemble and test. My primary telescopes were a Vixen 90mm f/9 fluorite refractor (fl=810mm) and a TeleVue Ranger 70mm f/6.8 (fl=480mm). Nikon D200 10.2 megapixel DSLR's were attached to each of these instruments. The telescopes were bolted in tandem on a Celestron Super Polaris equatorial mount.I also had four Nikon SLR's with programmable backs and three video cameras.
Below is a small selection of photos obtained from the Libyan desert. For more 2006 eclipse images, visit all five photo galleries:
A - Overview | B - Diamond Ring | C - Inner Corona | D - Outer Corona | E - Sequences |
Click on each image below to see a larger photo.
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Eye Witnesses of Totality (T06-309w) Pat Totten and Fred Espenak view and photograph the total eclipse. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Diamond Ring before 2nd Contact (T06-1081-1w) Totality is heralded by a dazzling celestial diamond ring before 2nd contact. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Baily's Beads at 2nd Contact (T06-1089-1w) Just before totality begins, Baily's Beads form when sunlight shines through deep valleys along the lunar limb. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Baily's Beads at Second Contact - Time Sequence (T06-2ndC-2w) A time sequence of 7 images captures the break up of the solar crescent into Baily's beads immediately preceeding second contact. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Baily's Beads and Prominence (T06-1089-2w) A close-up shows Baily's Beads and a red prominence just seconds before totality begins. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Prominences After 2nd Contact (T06-1094-2w) Several large prominences where visible just after second contact. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Diamond Ring and Bead at 3rd Contact (T06-1154-1w) Totality ends as the Sun's brilliant limb reappears along the Moon's western limb. One of Baily's beads remains visible for a few seconds before being engulfed by the frowing crescent. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Diamond Ring at 3rd Contact (T06-1163-1w) Totality ends as the Sun's brilliant limb reappears along the Moon's western limb. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Baily's Beads at Third Contact - Time Sequence (T06-3rdC-2w) A time sequence of 7 images captures the formation of Baily's beads and their subsequent merge into the growing solar crescent immediately following third contact. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Diamond Ring & Totality Sequence (T06-7x1-2aw) This seven-image sequence captures the diamond ring effect at both 2nd and 3rd contact as well as totality. The central image of the corona during totality is a composite of 22 separate exposures which reveal subtle details and structures in the Sun's atmosphere. For more eclipse sequences, visit Photo Gallery E - Sequences. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Baily's Beads at Two Contacts - Time Sequence (T06-DuoC-2w) The formation of Baily's beads preceeding second contact and following third contact are shown in a time sequence. The interval between individual frames is 1 second. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
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Gazing at Totality (T06-229w) Fred Espenak takes a moment from his busy photographic program to steal a glance at totality. Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA) |
All photographs, text and web pages are © Copyright 2006 by Fred Espenak, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. They may not be reproduced, published, copied or transmitted in any form, including electronically on the Internet or WWW, without written permission of the author. The photos have been digitally watermarked.
The photographs may be licensed for commercial, editorial, and educational use. Contact Espenak (at MrEclipse) for photo use in print, web, video, CD and all other media.
WebMaster: MrEclipse
Last revised: 2007 Jan 21
