The Diamond Ring (With Diffraction Spikes)

The Diamond Ring is a phenomenon which occurs for a couple seconds before or after a total solar eclipse. Before the total solar eclipse, the moon will cover 99.9% of the sun, leaving a very little ring of light around the edge of it as the last of the corona shines down to Earth. Likewise, shortly after a total solar eclipse ends, the moon moves out of the path of the sun and the first photons of the sun’s come beaming down to Earth.

This picture features diffraction spikes, which is caused when the light from the sun bounces through the aperture blades of my camera lens.

This photograph was captured in the small town of Evening Shade (Arkansas) on April 8, 2024. I caught this photograph in the moments after the moon had finished obstructing the sun completely.

This photograph is featured in my blog article (journal entry) about observing a total solar eclipse. If interested, you can support my work by purchasing a print. The buttons are below.

The Technical Details for those interested. :-)

Acquisition Details:

• Single 1/50 second exposure, shot at 80mm; f/8.0, ISO 100

• Edited with Adobe Bridge and Adobe Photoshop

Equipment:

• Nikon D7200

• AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1:2.8 ED

• Benro TSL08C Tripod

• JJC Intervalometer Remote Shutter Release