Photos: 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse

Beach eclipse

Beach eclipse

(Image credit: michelle bryner)

Jeanna Bryner photographs the eclipse from the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey.

Near total eclipse

Near total eclipse

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

The moon passes in front of the sun at the point of the maximum partial solar eclipse near Banner, Wyoming today (Aug. 21).

Diamond ring

Diamond Ring Eclipse

(Image credit: Aubrey Gemignani/NASA)

This so-called diamond ring effect happened when the moon made its final move over the sun during the total eclipse, as seen from Madras, Oregon.

Bailey's Beads

Bailey's beads 2017

(Image credit: Aubrey Gemignani/NASA)

This effect, known as Bailey's beads, was seen during the total solar eclipse from Madras, Oregon during the Great American Solar Eclipse. The beads were visible because the moon is spotted with mountains and valleys. Light coming from the sun is broken into a band of spots, or beads, as the light appears around the moon's rim.

Bailey's beads usually appear for only a few seconds to about a minute.

Spectacular view

OSU Eclipse

(Image credit: Oregon State University)

A view of the Great American Solar Eclipse, as seen from Oregon.

ISS times four

ISS composite image

(Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA)

Another composite image, this time showing four snapshots of the ISS transiting across a partial eclipse of the sun.

Oregon crowd

Oregon eclipse crowd

(Image credit: Oregon State University)

A crowd of sky gazers gathered at Oregon State University to watch the Great American Solar Eclipse.

Eclipse shadow

Eclipse shadow

(Image credit: NASAAmes/Twitter)

NASA Ames tweeted "Astronauts aboard the @Space_Station captured this amazing image of the Moon's shadow over the U.S. during #SolarEclipse2017."

Crescent shadows

Crescent shadows

(Image credit: NASAAmes/Twitter)

NASA Ames also tweeted" Cool crescent-shaped shadows were seen at @NASAAmes as the Moon took a bite out of the Sun during #SolarEclipse2017"

Partial eclipse

Partial Oregon Eclipse

(Image credit: Oregon State University)

The beginning of the solar eclipse, as seen from Oregon.

Laura Geggel
Editor

Laura is the archaeology and Life's Little Mysteries editor at Live Science. She also reports on general science, including paleontology. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Scholastic, Popular Science and Spectrum, a site on autism research. She has won multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for her reporting at a weekly newspaper near Seattle. Laura holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in science writing from NYU.