Equatorial Sunrise Eclipse

Third place winner in the 2023 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Still images of the day arc of the Sun and solargraphs: Equatorial Sunrise Eclipse, by Fabrizio Melandri.

This breathtaking image shows a sunrise sequence of the annular eclipse of 2006, as it unfolds against the tranquil backdrop of Des Roches beach in Kourou, French Guiana. Positioned near a renowned spaceport, this location provides an impeccable viewpoint to behold the celestial event. This image was captured using an analogue camera, with a shot being taken every 10 minutes on the same film frame. The exposures were changed as the Sun rose. The Moon’s disc can be seen gradually moving across the Sun’s disc from the earliest (lower) image until it covers the Sun. It then slowly moves away, revealing the whole of the solar disc again. Kourou’s unique geographic location close to Earth’s equator ensures that the path of the rising Sun is nearly perpendicular to the horizon, magnifying the splendour of the eclipse.

Credit: Fabrizio Melandri/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)