bright white dot during solar eclipse (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I travelled to dallas to see the solar eclipse monday and noticed something strange that I've not seen anyone talk about. At the bottom right of the eclipse during totality after the diamond ring effect there was a persistant bright white dot that looked almost like it was on the surface of the moon rather than the edge. I'm assuming this was some atmospheric distortion but I really have no idea. Thoughts?

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

Was it Bailey's Beads?

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I've seen images of those and, maybe? There was only one and it was much larger than the images I've seen of bailey's beads. It's definitely the most likely explanation though

[-] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

The only other thing that would make sense would be a solar prominence, those are red though. There were some of those at the bottom, top, and right side.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

There were definitely a couple of prominences peeking out from behind the moon and visible as bright spots that persisted throughout totality. From my spot, I just noticed one.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2024/04/10/red-dot-2024-total-eclipse-astronomer-explains-solar-prominence-coronal-mass-ejection/73272304007/