45 enthralling solar eclipse images you may have missed

What was so great about the 2017 solar eclipse? For starters, this was the first time a total solar eclipse has crossed the entire continental United States in 99 years. In divisive times like these, it’s nice to have a stellar experience we can all share.

As Astrophysicist Summer Ash from NBC’s Space is Awesome explained, “This eclipse is the best chance in almost a century for most Americans to get to look at one from their own backyard”  12.2 million of Americans live along the path of totality for a total solar eclipse. Millions more were within driving distance. Plus, everyone in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii, were able to view at least a partial eclipse.

According to NASA’s website, the total solar eclipse arrived in Madras Oregon at 9:05 a.m. PDT, swept across the continental U.S. at breathtaking speeds of 1,500-3,000 miles per hour, and flew off the coast of Charleston, S.C. at 4:06 p.m. EDT.

For those of us within the path of totality, the temperature dropped, the wind changed direction, birds stopped singing, and the stars came out. But as the amazing photos in this article prove, even those who had cloudy weather and a partial eclipse were treated to an incredible show.

45 Amazing images of the 2017 Solar Eclipse.

The above photo was taken by Jim Jeletic, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope deputy project manager, and his son Jordan. And here are 45 more great pictures.

45. Some of the best solar eclipse photos were taken from above, including this one. Alaska Airlines had someone take this from 38,000 feet in the air and 800 miles off the coast of Oregon

44. NASA took this breathtaking picture from outer space.

43. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image and the video below via satellite. SDO is part of the Living with a Star (LWS) program, which studies the sun’s solar atmosphere.

Here’s the video that goes with the satellite image above.

42. Terry Virts, a NASA astronaut, snapped this photo with a regular handheld camera as the sun rose over Planet Earth’s horizon.

41. Virts also captured this stunning shot.

40. Despite cloudy weather, Alex Flaxenburg managed to take a stunning solar eclipse photo at a festival in Madras, Ore.

https://twitter.com/flaxenburg/status/899713218242859010

39. This picture took lots of planning, but Ted Hesser got his shot at Smith Rock State Park, Ore.

38. You may have seen this phenomenal time-lapse photo from Oregon by Jasman Lion Mander, because it went viral. But here it is in case you missed it.

37. Portland photographer Jake Kwong caught the ring of fire and solar flare.

36. Productivity’s loss was science’s gain.

35. NASA put together a composite image to show the progression of a partial solar eclipse at Washington state’s Ross Lake in the Northern Cascades National Park.

34. Paul Zizka took the photo below from atop Ha Ling Peak in Alberta, Canada.

33. Chris Oates, a photographer, also turned heads when he shared this breathtaking composite photo from Lethbridge, Canada.

32. Photographer David Montes set up a gallery for the stunning series of photos he took in Weiser, Idaho.

31. Self-described photographer and “storm chaser” Ryan Wunch chased the solar eclipse instead for this insane shot from the plains of Nebraska.

30. Karl Shakur Ndieli captured the “ring of fire” at Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.

29. This lovely image comes from Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colo.
via the U.S. Dept. of the Interior.

28. This series of images — assembled into an animated GIF — shows the progression of the total solar eclipse in Carbondale, Ill.

27. Ana Sprague got some amazing shots in Chicago, Ill.

26. You can’t have a solar eclipse sweeping through the South without at least one getting taken at a Waffle House. This one’s in Nashville Tenn.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYEj3magmJL/

25. This photo doesn’t show the eclipse, but the mountain top view from Tennessee’s Great Smokey Mountains is gorgeous.

https://twitter.com/planetepics/status/901163507542085633

24. Cloudy weather didn’t deter the folks from Stone Laboratory in Gibraltar Island, Ohio from capturing an eerily beautiful image.

23. Shawn Dowd was able to take a similarly beautiful picture in Rochester, N.Y.

22. This was taken at Wilson Hall at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.

21. Here are two from Columbia, Md. with an airplane in the shots.

20. Julian Diamond took this photo in South Carolina.

19. Brian Drourr also took a photo of the total eclipse with the corona in Greenville, S.C.

18. Patricia Murphy snapped this striking image from Pauley’s Island, S.C.

17. Charleston, S.C. was the last city within the path of the total Solar Eclipse before it swept off the East Coast.

18. Brendon Echter’s shot shows how the leaves in trees function as pinhole cameras.

The 2017 solar eclipse also inspired lots of art and memes.

15. School kids in Nashville, Tenn. welcomed the eclipse with their drawings.

14. The U.S. 82nd Airborne division’s photo went viral. It turned out to be a photo illustration in honor of their Centennial Week, and not a photo of an actual jump. Still, it’s pretty danged awesome. The News Observer reports, “By Monday night, the photo was shared on Facebook nearly 30,000 times, had more than 700 comments and more than 22,000 reactions as people celebrated the proud “All American” division.”

13. Megan Brennan’s charming illustration gets the point across.

12. Guess who?

https://twitter.com/unicornwing_/status/899579545375956992

11. A lovely animated GIF.

https://twitter.com/17memearchive/status/901083276164702208

10. French illustrator Maryne Lahaye was one of many artists who portrayed the solar eclipse as long-separated lesbian lovers.

9. For this Twitter user, Al Columbia’s mischievous moon wins the day.

8. Another take on the separated lovers theme.

7. This League of Legends fan art piece reminds fans to protect their eyes.

6. More 2017 solar eclipse-inspired fan art.

5. This interesting map shows how Stack Overflow — which measures web traffic — saw the solar eclipse.

4. Minecraft gets a shout out.

3. In case you missed it….

https://twitter.com/Benoo_Brown/status/899958769307844608

2. Of course, someone had to make a joke about Mitsubishi’s eclipse.

https://twitter.com/CamberCult/status/899779438740733953

Extra points to those who get this bad punny.

1. Whew. Thanks.

Featured image: Jim Jeletic via NASA.