It’s been quite the year for astro events. From the northern (and southern) lights to shooting stars, and now, one of the rarest cosmic events, the Annular Solar Eclipse.
An Annular Solar Eclipse occurs when the Moon is at apogee, meaning it appears slightly smaller than usual and doesn’t completely cover the sun, and astrophotographer Josh Dury was on the ground on Easter Island at the time.
"The Annular Solar Eclipse is a fascinating event, also known as the ring of fire," Dury told Digital Camera World, "They are rare, and this one was only visible from 5% of the world's land mass."
Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, is a remote volcanic island in Polynesia, and a special territory of Chile, home to 900 huge statues known as moai. It is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth, and is a great spot for astrophotographers due to its lack of light pollution.
"It just happened to be clear skies for the eclipse," said Dury, “the skies remained clear over Easter Island and parts of South America in Argentina."
The trip took nine months of planning, as did the kit Dury chose to take.
"I used two cameras to photograph the solar eclipse. One camera to capture telephoto shots, whilst using a wide angle lens to capture the scene of the moai and the timelapse of the eclipse passing overhead."
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"The photograph was taken between 12:33 and 15:22 local time, and over [this period of this time] I was able to capture the whole of the event with a good weather forecast. The image below is 21 images blended into a single frame."
Not only is this eclipse stunning, it’s also incredibly rare.
"There will be no more annular or total solar eclipses [here]," said Dury, "Yes, partial eclipses will be visible, but it’s the pure rarity which means that, from now, three generations will pass before this view will be seen once again. What has been touching for me during my time on Rapa Nui Is to share these images with the islanders."
Dury arranged a private visit to Easter Island to capture this event.
"I was lucky enough to share this experience with my mum who has always supported me with my work through my highs and lows and has always been there for me.
"This photograph would not have been possible without the help of our friend on the island and guide, Martín Tuki. He allowed us to visit a very restricted area of the Rapa Nui National Park.
"It was so lovely to share this experience together in such a culturally important eclipse."
Interested in getting in to astrophotography? Check out our guides to the best cameras for astrophotography, the best lenses for astrophotography, and the best star tracker camera mounts for astrophotography.
