Solar eclipse at Easter Island

There was a total eclipse of the Sun on July 11. Don't feel bad if you missed it. It was really only visible over the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. Easter Island is one of the few spots of dry land that got a peek. This shot was taken by photographer Stephane Guisard and was featured on Astronomy Photo of the Day.

(Via Jeffrey Perkel)

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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Donald Petersen

How come the planet’s still spinning? Shouldn’t we all be dead now?
MachineElf

I like this one better (by Juan Carlos Casado):

http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3002605

Also, make sure you check out Guisard’s shots of Easter Island at night. Something about those ancient sentinels silently staring into the timeless cosmos:

http://www.astrosurf.com/sguisard/Pagim/Easter_Island1.html

http://www.astrosurf.com/sguisard/Pagim/Easter_Island2.html
Anonymous

Great video “Starry Motion above Easter Island” by the same guy here:
http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3002380&Sort=Region

The stars look amazing.
Axx

What does this MEAN?
- jjasper
  
  The time of the Elder Gods is nigh!
Rev. Benjamin

That is absolutely astounding. Godspeed to the photographer, wow.
brianary

Aren’t we supposed to call it Rapa Nui now?
johnocomedy

it would be better if all the statues were holding pinhole boxes
MichaelRN

My new desktop.
AndrÃ©s

It was also visible from southern Chile, arround Puerto Natales. In the rest of the country it was partially visible (not the complete unmbra, but the penumbra was cool too).
Ugly Canuck

“View total solar eclipse while standing among the stone heads of Rapa Nui”.

It really does read like something from someone’s bucket list, doesn’t it?

I regret not having been there.
Dave Faris

Oh, cool. I’d read that DEVO was touring again.
Tristan Eldtritch

Beautiful stuff, very 2001!