Total solar eclipse. Composite sequence showing the Sun moving through the sky from top left to lower right during the total solar eclipse of 1 August 2008. Total solar eclipses occur when the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun. They usually occur less than once a year, and can only be seen from a small area of the Earth's surface. Totality (centre) lasted for over 2 minutes at around 17:45 local time. Photographed on the shores of the Ob Sea, near Novosibirsk, Russia.
