Jerry & Ruthie's Photos of the August 11, 1999 Total Solar Eclipse

The following pictures were taken on August 11, 1999 between 11:30 AM and 12:30 P.M.

Ruthie and I were driving north through Normandy from Honfleur toward the cliffs of Etretat, trying

to stay ahead of the clouds, which we succeeded in doing. For the totality period, we pulled into a field

approximately 2 miles south of the Etratat Cliffs.  Many thanks to our friends and eclipse partners

Bertrand and Sylvie Petit, without whose 100 mile an hour driving we would not have succeeded in

staying under the blue skies.

This is the beginning of the eclipse, as the moon begins to cover the upper right corner of the sun, at 11:40 A.M.
At 12:10 P.M., the sun is 90% eclipsed.
Just seconds before the start of the totality phase of the eclipse at 12:18:49 P.M., the phenomenon known as the "diamond ring" effect can be seen. It is caused by the tiniest part of the sun that is still exposed (the "stone") combining with the beginning visibility of the corona around the sun.
During the 2 minutes of totality, the sun is completely blocked by the moon, and the chromosphere (ring of hot gases) around the sun is visible.