Photos: Earth gets treated to solar eclipse

A total eclipse where the moon completely blocks out the sun dazzled onlookers from Brazil to northern Mongolia.

By Bill Detwiler, Contributor on July 20, 2006

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solar eclipse

A total solar eclipse--a rarity in which the moon completely blocks out the sun--occured Wednesday over Brazil and extended across the Atlantic Ocean, northern Africa, and central Asia where it is ending at sunset in northern Mongolia.

The next total eclipse, on Aug. 1, 2008, will be seen in northern Canada, Greenland, Siberia, Mongolia and northern China. The next total solar eclipse will happen in the United States on Aug. 21, 2017, according to NASA.

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glasses

An Australian mother and her child wear special protective glasses to watch the solar eclipse from a desert tourist camp in Galo, Libya.

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diamond ring

On the left is the "diamond ring" effect which occurs just before and after the moon completely covers the sun. On the right, solar flares can be seen behind the moon.

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Moon shadow

The moon casts its shadow as seen from 230 miles above the Earth on the International Space Station. The next space station crew launches from Kazakhstan Wednesday.

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