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2006 Total Solar Eclipse

Photo Gallery A (Overview)

Photographs by Fred Espenak

2006 Mar 29 Total Solar Eclipse
2006 Total Solar Eclipse
This sequence encompasses the entire eclipse from start to finish.
(click for larger image)

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 |

Blue Bar

Click on each image below to see a larger photo.

T06-1025-1n
Partial Eclipse
Magnitude=0.29
(T06-1025-1w)

Partial Eclipse - Magnitude = 0.29 (T06-1025-1w)

Nearly 1/3 of the Sun's diameter is gone! (09:31 UT)

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1/8000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-1049-1n
Partial Eclipse
Magnitude=0.60
(T06-1049-1w)

Partial Eclipse - Magnitude = 0.60 (T06-1049-1w)

Nearly 2/3 of the Sun's diameter is gone! (09:55 UT)

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1/8000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-1072-1n
Partial Eclipse
Magnitude=0.90
(T06-1072-1w)

Partial Eclipse - Magnitude = 0.90 (T06-1072-1w)

Seven minutes until totality! (10:18 UT)

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1/8000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-1081-1n
Diamond Ring
at 2nd Contact
(T06-1081-1w)

Diamond Ring before 2nd Contact (T06-1081-1w)

Totality is heralded by a dazzling celestial diamond ring before 2nd contact.

For more diamond ring photos, visit Photo Gallery B - Diamond Ring.

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1/1000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-1118m1n
Outer Corona
and Moon
(T06-1118m1w)

Outer Corona and Moon (T06-1118m1w)

Long streamers can be seen in a long exposure (1 second) of the corona. As a consequence, the inner and middle corona are completely overexposed.Also visible are the Moon's dark mare and rayed craters which are illuminated in bright earthshine (sunlight reflected from Earth).

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-cmp105bn
Composite Corona - 105b
(T06-cmp105bw)

Composite Corona - 105b (T06-cmp105bw)

A composite image from 22 separate exposures was produced using Adobe Photoshop CS2. Version 105b features moderate structure using a narrow radial filter.

For more computer enhanced corona photos, visit Photo Gallery C - Inner Corona Composites.

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1 to 1/1000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-cmp205bn
Composite Corona 2-05b
(T06-cmp205bw)

Composite Corona 2-05b (T06-cmp205bw)

A composite image using Adobe Photoshop CS2 was produced from 26 individual exposures obtained with two separate telescopes (to cover wide and narrow fields). Composite version 2-05b features moderate structure using a narrow digital radial filter.

For more computer enhanced corona photos, visit Photo Gallery D - Outer Corona Composites.

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor + TeleVue Ranger 70mm f/6.8 Refractor
Exposure Range: 1/1000 to 2 seconds at ISO 200
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-118n
Fisheye View
of Totality
(T06-118w)

Fisheye View of Totality (T06-118w)

Pat Totten and Fred Espenak are seen with the totally eclipsed Sun. (11:22 UT)

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon N90s & 16mm Fisheye, f/5.6, auto (ISO 200)
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-1163-1n
Diamond Ring
at 3rd Contact
(T06-1163-1w)

Diamond Ring at 3rd Contact (T06-1163-1w)

Totality ends as the Sun's brilliant limb reappears along the Moon's western limb.

For more diamond ring photos, visit Photo Gallery B - Diamond Ring.

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1/1000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-1176-1n
Partial Eclipse
Magnitude=0.84
(T06-1176-1w)

Partial Eclipse - Magnitude = 0.84 (T06-1176-1w)

Twelve minutes after the end of totality. (10:43 UT)

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1/4000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-1191-1n
Partial Eclipse
Magnitude=0.66
(T06-1191-1w)

Partial Eclipse - Magnitude = 0.66 (T06-1191-1w)

The partial phase twenty-seven minutes after totality. (10:58 UT)

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1/8000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-1215-1n
Partial Eclipse
Magnitude=0.35
(T06-1215-1w)

Partial Eclipse - Magnitude = 0.35 (T06-1215-1w)

The end of the partial phases nears. (11:22 UT)

Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29 (Jalu, LIBYA)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor, 1/8000 second
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak

T06-11x1-2cn
Eclipse Sequence 1
(T06-11x1-2cw)

Eclipse Sequence 1 (T06-11x1-2cw)

Eleven photos were combined into a sequence showing the various phases of the eclipse. 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)
Nikon D200 and Vixen 90mm f/9 Fluorite Refractor
Photo ©2006 by Fred Espenak



2006 Total Solar Eclipse - More Photos and Reports

Solar Eclipse Photographs

Copyright Notice

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.

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WebMaster: MrEclipse
Last revised: 2007 Jan 21