A Distorted Sunrise Eclipse

Yes, but have you ever seen a sunrise like this? Here, after initial cloudiness, the Sun appeared to rise in two pieces and during a partial eclipse in 2019, causing the photographer to describe it as the most stunning sunrise of his life. The dark circle near the top of the atmospherically-reddened Sun is the Moon -- but so is the dark peak just below it. This is because along the way, the Earth's atmosphere had a layer of unusually warm air over the sea which acted like a gigantic lens and created a second image . For a normal sunrise or sunset, this rare phenomenon of atmospheric optics is known as the Etruscan vase effect . The featured picture was captured in December 2019 from Al Wakrah , Qatar . Some observers in a narrow band of Earth to the east were able to see a full annular solar eclipse -- where the Moon appears completely surrounded by the background Sun in a ring of fire . The next solar eclipse, also an annular eclipse for well-placed observers, will occur this coming Saturday . APOD editor to speak: in Houghton, Michigan on Thursday, October 12 at 6 pm