The moon took a bite out of the sun in the first solar eclipse of the year on Tuesday, a celestial ballet visible from Australia that captivated stargazers despite cloudy weather.
Tuesday's solar eclipse was a "ring of fire" annular eclipse, but only for an uninhabited swath of Antarctica. For observers in Australia, the moon appeared to cover up to about 65 percent of the sun, resulting in a striking partial solar eclipse at sunset.
"I felt lucky to view and capture the eclipse this afternoon due to continuous partial cloud cover," photographer CJ Armitage told Space.com via email. "Time seemed to stand still during the brief moments of visibility. ... I hope the penguins of Antarctica enjoyed their view of the 'Ring of Fire.'" [Gallery: Amazing Photos of the April 29 Solar Eclipse]
Australian eclipse-chasers dealt with frustrating clouds that occasionally blocked views of the moon-sun rendezvous. The clouds did not stop astronomer Jay Pasachoff of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., who photographed the eclipse from Albany in Western Australia.
"Things went very well here," Pasachoff told Space.com via email. "Clear about half the time." Tuesday's sun show was the 59th solar eclipse observed by Pasachoff.
— Tariq Malik, Space.com
This is a condensed version of a report from Space.com. Read the full report. Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him via Twitter and Google+. Follow Space.com on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
- Video: Partial Solar Eclipse Snapped Over Australia
- Solar Eclipses of 2014: Complete Coverage
- Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse of 2013: Photos and Maps
- Infographic: 11 Must-See Celestial Events
Update for 8:45 p.m. ET April 30: We've added a great multiple-exposure view of the eclipse from Australian photographer Stephen Mudge. To see more of Mudge's work, check out his Flickr gallery. And for still more eclipse pictures, check out SpaceWeather.com's gallery.