October 14, 2023 marked the annual solar eclipse in the US. For photographer Ryan Imperio, the event also heralded a rare opportunity to document the eclipse’s progress. Baily’s Beads.
Baily’s beads appear as glittering rings and are created when the sun shines through the valleys and craters on the moon’s surface, allowing light to leak through the mass eclipse. Imperio documented the perfect half-rings from a spot in Odessa, Texas, stitching together about thirty images into a brilliant, repetitive composite that won him the prize Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024.
“What an innovative way to map the topography of the moon at the point of third contact during an annular solar eclipse,” said Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn, who judged the competition. “This is an impressive dissection of the fleeting few seconds during the visibility of the Baily’s beads”
The competition, run annually by Royal Museums Greenwich, attracted more than 3,500 entries this year from photographers from 58 countries. From the bright green Aurora Borealis dancing above an Icelandic mountain to the International Space Station moving past the sun, the winning images provide a humbling and awe-inspiring look at the vast galaxies and remarkable phenomena in our universe and beyond.
If you’re in London, check out this year’s top photos at the National Maritime Museum. Otherwise, find our favorites below.
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