APOD 4.5: Total Solar Eclipse over Svalbard

This photo was taken in Svalbard, Norway, last month. In this image, the eclipse was captured every three minutes and then digitally merged with a foreground frame taken from the same location. As the Moon and the Sun move together, an increasing fraction of the Sun appears covered by the Moon. The next total eclipse of the Sun will occur in 2016 March and be visible from Southeast Asia. 

APOD 4.4: Venus in the West

Recently, Venus has been shining near the western horizon at sunset. When this picture was taken, it was especially close to the Pleiades star cluster, dominating the sky near the town of Lich in central Germany. Also known as the Seven Sister, the Pleiades cluster appears right above Venus in this picture. Near the left side tree branches appears bright star Aldebaren, the eye of Taurus the bull, and the Hyades star cluster. 

APOD 4.3: A Golden Gate Eclipse 

This is a panoramic view of the lunar eclipse in San Francisco on April 4th, over the Golden Gate Bridge.  The shortest lunar eclipse of the century, this eclipse was also the third in a string of four consecutive total lunar eclipses, a series known as a tetrad. The previous two were April 15 and October 18. The next and final eclipse will be on September 28, this 2014-2015 tetrad is one of the 8 total lunar eclipse tetrads in the 21st century. 

APOD 4.2: Diamond Rings and Bailey's Beads

The New Moon's silhouette at stages just before and after the three minute long total phase seems to sprout glistening diamonds and bright beads in this time lapse composite of the celestial event. The last and first glimpses of the solar disk with the lunar limb surrounded by the glow of the Sun's inner corona give the impression of the diamond ring in the sky.