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32 amazing photos of solar eclipses (pictures)

Nothing photobombs the sun better than the moon. Here are some stunning pictures of eclipses through the years.

Leslie Gornstein
Leslie Gornstein is a senior editor with CBS Interactive. For the past two decades, she's covered consumer and B-to-B tech; biotech; entertainment and various other subjects that seemed interesting at the time. She's the author of The A-List Playbook (Skyhorse) and she lives in Los Angeles.
Leslie Gornstein
2017 Total Solar Eclipse
1 of 33 NASA/Bill Ingalls

The only eclipse images you need to see

Just admit it: Solar eclipses are cool. They turn shadows on the ground into crescent-shaped slivers, and the sun itself into a blazing homage to its sister body, the moon.

This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.

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2 of 33 Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images

Eerie in Vienna

In this photo from March 20, 2015, a partial solar eclipse is visible over a statue on the rooftop of of Hofburg Palace in Vienna.

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3 of 33 Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

United States, November 2013

A partial solar eclipse dazzled residents of the Queens borough of New York on November 3, 2013.

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4 of 33 David McNew/Getty Images

United States, May 2012

Visitors to the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona on May 20, 2012, were treated to more than the usual beauty of the area.

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5 of 33 Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

France, March 2006

In March 2006, children in Marseille, France, watched an eclipse... the safe way!

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6 of 33 SOHO/ESA/NASA/Williams College Eclipse Expedition/ Getty Images

Space, December 2002

This image from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory shows a composite image of the sun during an eclipse on Dec. 4, 2002. The image combines a view of the sun from SOHO (innermost) with a ground-based image (outermost).

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7 of 33 William West/AFP/Getty Images

Australia, May 2013

This combination of photos shows the moon crossing in front of the sun, as seen from the Sydney Observatory on May 10, 2013.

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8 of 33 Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

Japan, May 2012

For the first time in 932 years, a swathe of Japan was able to see an annular solar eclipse in May of 2012. An annular eclipse happens when the sun and moon are in line, but the apparent size of the moon is smaller than that of the sun.

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9 of 33 Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images

Bulgaria, January 2011

Sky-gazers in Sofia, Bulgaria, took in this view on January 4, 2011.

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10 of 33 Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images

United States, May 2012

Los Angeles was treated to an annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012.

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11 of 33 Omar Torres/AFP/Getty Images

Mexico, July 1991

This multiple-exposure photograph shows the progress of a July 11, 1991, solar eclipse over Xochicalco, Mexico.

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12 of 33 Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

United States, May 2012

A photographer in Kanarraville, Utah, captured this combination of photos on May 20, 2012. The tiny town was considered the ideal spot to see the eclipse that year.

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13 of 33 Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images

Philippines, May 2012

Here's a blazingly colorful view of a May 21, 2012, solar eclipse over the Philippines.

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14 of 33 Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Greece, March 2006

This is what folks on Kastellorizo Island, in southeastern Greece, saw on March 29, 2006.

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15 of 33 Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

England, August 2008

A plane flew across a view of the sun during a solar eclipse in Essex, England, on August 1, 2008.

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16 of 33 China Photos/Getty Images

Xian, China, August 2008

China got its first solar eclipse of the 21st century on August 1, 2008.

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17 of 33 Mahmoud Zayat/AFP/Getty Images

Lebanon, January 2011

The eclipsed sun appeared to top a minaret in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Sidon on January 4, 2011.

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18 of 33 Park Ji-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images

South Korea, January 2010

This multiple-exposure photo was taken using a neutral-density filter in Seoul on January 15, 2010.

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19 of 33 Biju Boro/AFP/Getty Images

India, July 2009

The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century came on July 22, 2009, and cast a shadow over much of Asia, plunging hundreds of millions into darkness across the land masses of India and China.

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20 of 33 Francois Campredon/AFP/Getty Images

Sweden, January 2011

This eclipse over Stockholm, Sweden, was viewed by a photographer through a double-glazed window on January 4, 2011.

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21 of 33 Miguel Riopa/AFP/Getty Images

Spain, October 2005

Here's a view of a solar eclipse in Vigo, Spain on October 3, 2005.

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22 of 33 Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan, January 2011

This combination picture shows the partial solar eclipse over Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad on January 4, 2011.

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23 of 33 Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images

Philippines, May 2012

A darker view of the May 21, 2012, solar eclipse over the Philippines.

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24 of 33 AFP/Getty Images

China, May 2012

This combo photo shows the annular solar eclipse seen from the coast of Xiamen, in China's southeast province of Fujian on May 21, 2012.

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25 of 33 Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP/Getty Images

Kuwait, November 2013

A partial solar eclipse was framed with love by an onlooker at the Souq Sharq Marina in Kuwait City on November 3, 2013.

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26 of 33 David McNew/Getty Images

United States, May 2012

Here's a composite of images from the May, 2012 solar eclipse over Arizona, the first annular eclipse seen in the US since 1994.

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27 of 33 Mark Thompson/Getty Images

United Arab Emirates, November 2013

A rare hybrid solar eclipse took place during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix on November 3, 2013.

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28 of 33 JAXA/NASA/Hinode/Getty Images

Space, May 2012

This snapshot provided by NASA shows the sun, including its spots, as the moon moved into a partial eclipse position on May 20, 2012.

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29 of 33 Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

Australia, November 2012

On November 12, 2012, stargazers in Palm Cove, Australia, witnessed a near totality.

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30 of 33 Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images

United States, May 2012

It's unclear what created this heart shape of the sun during an annular solar eclipse over Los Angeles, Calif., on May 20, 2012.

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31 of 33 Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images

Japan, May 2012

This multi-exposure picture shows a solar eclipse over Utsunomiya, Japan on May 21, 2012.

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32 of 33 Saeed KhanAFP/Getty Images

Australia, May 2013

Observatory visitors were treated to an annular solar eclipse in remote areas of Australia on May 10, 2013.

4 apps to help you watch the solar eclipse
4 apps to help you watch the solar eclipse
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4 apps to help you watch the solar eclipse

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