The Great American Eclipse on 21 August 2017. The first shot was about 15 seconds into totality and the second shot was about 15 seconds before the end of totality. We were at an eclipse party in the small town of White House, Tennessee. This location was right smack in the center of the path of totality so we had a whopping 2 minutes and 39 seconds of darkness. And it was dark as night. Except on the horizon where sunlight was visible past the edge of the moon's shadow.

Actually, I was not planning to photograph it; just watch it. About 10 minutes before totality, when the sky was starting to darken a little, I decided otherwise. So I did some scrambling about and managed to get 112 shots during the 2:39 of totality. And got to watch it as well. The first photo was one of the first ones I took. After that, I must have bumped the lens while fiddling with camera settings because many of the subsequent shots were way out of focus and unusable. Except for the last few shots.

If you ever have the chance to see a total solar eclipse, do not miss it. It is the most spectacular sight you'll ever see. It can also be quite emotional; I could not help myself and cried after it was over. There will be another total eclipse of the sun in the USA on 8 April 2024, less than 4 years from now so start making plans.

Incidentally, that white dot off to the east (left) of the sun in the first image is the star Regulus in the constellation Leo.

The image of the moon is from the lunar eclipse of 21 January 2019.