Lights out down under: Your photos from Australia’s total solar eclipse
Just like Pac-Man —
This Pac-Man shaped image of the sun was taken by Chad Loel Rademan onboard a cruise ship in the Coral Sea about 550 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia. "At 41 I was the baby on the ship but it was a great atmosphere, the upper deck was crammed with people and when the sun disappeared the sky looked a bit creepy but beautiful," he said.
Courtesy Chad Lowell Rayduman
X-rated —
This unorthodox approach to eclipse watching was fashioned by Maj Coop from Brisbane, Australia. "The x-ray is of my mum's hand. She's been struggling with arthritis in her hand for a while and this x-ray has just been sitting in her car for a few months," she says. "I thought there shouldn't be any reason why this wouldn't work."
courtesy Maj Coop
Goggle eyed —
"To see the solar eclipse, I used some welding goggles," says Daniel Christiansen from Australia's Gold Coast. "I think the photo is kinda cool because it's this futuristic horror look ... and the sun's limited lighting is creating a unique darkness."
courtesy Daniel Christiansen
Good morning Darwin! —
Sandra Otto took this photo from the side of the road in the northern suburbs of Darwin, Australia, after forgetting about the eclipse until it was about to happen. "I quickly got my camera and my bigger lens and jumped into my utility," she says. " I wish I was better prepared but found it to be a truly amazing experience, spectacular."
Courtesy Sandra Otto
Eclipse totality —
Chad Lowell Rayduman
'An awe inspiring sight' —
"You see the images on the news and in the papers but I think that by the time something has gone to print the impact is lost to a degree, it's different being 'present' for the eclipse. It's [awe-inspiring]," said Samantha J Hughes from Auckland, New Zealand.
courtesy Samantha J Hughes
Red sun of New Zealand —
"The photograph I uploaded is approximately 17-18 minutes past the peak of the eclipse. The reason I chose that photo is because it shows a few Sun spots, and it's not just a solid block of reddish colour like those I took closer to the peak," says Goran Ristic from Auckland, New Zealand.
Courtesy Goran Ristic
Glowing second chance —
This was John Lindsay Stevenson's second eclipse. The 52-year-old postman from the small island of Bribie says: "My father took me to my first eclipse in 1976 when I was 16, but it was totally clouded out and we never saw it. It was a huge disappointment but it was enough to definitely want to experience another."
Courtesy John Lindsay Stevenson
Camera prep —
Dave Thomson snapped this picture of eclipse preparations in Pormpuraaw, rural northern Queensland. When the big moment finally arrived it "was epic," he says.
Courtesy Dave Thomson
Yay Astronomy! —
Katie Mack, a research scientist in astrophysics, was perfectly placed in Melbourne, Australia, to capture at least part of the eclipse in a quirky way: "I realized at some point that the eclipsed sun was the shape of a happy-face mouth, and I thought maybe I could capture that."
Courtesy Katie Mack
Roof with a view —
Stephanie Wynne of Cairns captured this image of the eclipse at totality from the roof of her home in Cairns, northern Australia. "Unfortunately I didn't have my telescope, so I had to use my phone to take the pictures, but still an alright result," she says.
courtesy Stephanie Wynne
The view from Wellington —
"I thought it would be cool to take a few photos because I haven't seen an eclipse in my lifetime, says iReporter Samuel Hill who shot this picture in Wellington, New Zealand. "Most people were really excited once they got to look through the solar lenses to see the eclipse."
Courtesy Samuel Hill/ireport
Through the lens —
Alistair Soon snapped this image as the eclipse passed over his home city of Brisbane early Wednesday morning. "It is amazing just with a solar filter, one could see that the moon is just right there in front of the sun," he says.
courtesy Alistair Soon
Study break —
Staff and students used the campus at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, to hook up telescopes and camera equipment to capture the eclipse, says Kim Tairi. "We have a center for astrophysics and supercomputing here ... [so we] set up an area on campus [where] people could come past and get a look at the eclipse," she says.
Courtesy Kim Tairi
Barking mad —
Vanessa Hill of North Ryde, near Sydney, was taking no precautions during this morning's eclipse, adorning her dog with cool protective shades.
Courtesy Vanessa Hill
In Einstein's shadow —
Tomoya Arai of Japan took this image of crowds at the Eclipse2012 festival in the north Queensland outback. As the eclipse began Arai, said he was reminded of Albert Einstein's words: "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious."
Courtesy Tomoya Arai
The eclipse chaser —
This was the thirteenth time "professional eclipse chaser" Mike Smith has witnessed a total eclipse. The badges on his hat commemorate each of his previous experiences. "We viewed this one from Green Island, which is 25 kilometers off the coast of Cairns as we were warned it was going to be cloudy on land," he says. "The eclipse was as unique and beautiful as ever."
Courtesy Mike Smith
Do it yourself eclipse —
Not all eclipse chasers adopted high-tech cameras and telescopes. Instagrammer, Rhea Hepburn, fashioned this eclipse viewer using cardboard boxes, paper and a mirror. "I really loved it. It didn't get as dark as I thought it would with the naked eye but the view worked great," she says.
Courtesy gromitmagick
The big show —
David Freeman of Longreach in outback Queensland sent in this image of photographers prepping for the big moment. "Even if we didn't get totality the light was really interesting," he says. "Coming so close after sunrise we had the typical outback orange and red sunrise and then went into an almost surreal subdued light. Not the same colors as a normal sunrise but definitely not normal daylight either."
Courtesy David Freeman
Solar shades —
Instagrammer Tawnymc had style and concept covered with these chic glasses as she settled in to watch the eclipse from Buchanon Beach near Cairns. "(They) were amazing, we could see the moon move across the sun and we shared them around the beach - they were just $10 too," she says.
Courtesy Tawnymc
Auckland skygazing —
Filipino nurse, Almira Tumpap, captured this picture outside the Stardome Planetarium in her adopted home of Auckland, New Zealand. "It was also nice to see both children and adults skygazing outside the Stardome Planetarium waiting for this spectacular display of awesomeness," she says. "It was such a special treat, a beautiful experience. The best things in life really are free."
Courtesy Almira Tumpap
Dark at dawn —
iReporter David Brungger was one of many people to witness the eclipse at Palm Cove in the north of Queensland. "When everything finally went almost totally dark, some people were clapping, some people were cheering with joy, and we all took our eclipse glasses off to enjoy some of the most exciting and beautiful seconds of my life. Too bad it only lasted roughly one minute," he says.
Courtesy David Brungger
Down by the beach —
Airdrie Makim flew to Queensland all the way from Melbourne in order catch the best view of the solar eclipse. "It's been cloudy wet weather so we were really worried we wouldn't get to see it but the clouds cleared just before totality," she says. "It was just magical! We are so happy to have seen it."
Pandamonium —
Sam George Allen took this photo of her partner James Jang at the Lota Foreshore in Brisbane, Australia. "A few people from the Redlands Astronomical Society were there with equipment, and about fourty others showed up throughout the eclipse -- lots of families -- to look through the telescopes and share around the viewing glasses. It was before school started so there were lots of kids running around, and one of the dads lent us the panda glasses! Pretty cute," said the a 22-year-old writer.
Courtesy Sam George Allen
One last cloud —
Karl Glazebrook, a Professor of Astronomy, took his family from Melbourne to Palm cove Beach in Queensland for an eclipse-themed holiday. "About 30 min before the totality I was in despair as most of the sky was cloudy. About T-10m it started to break up and a hole appeared and it looked like the sun was moving towards the hole. Two minutes before the eclipse the last cloud left the sun! You can see the cloud in this photo."
!["You see the images on the news and in the papers but I think that by the time something has gone to print the impact is lost to a degree, it's different being 'present' for the eclipse. It's [awe-inspiring]," said <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fireport.cnn.com%2Fpeople%2Felysis">Samantha J Hughes</a> from Auckland, New Zealand.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/121114010331-solar-eclipse-new-zealand-auckland.jpg?q=w_5016,h_3344,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
![Staff and students used the campus at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, to hook up telescopes and camera equipment to capture the eclipse, says <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F13370398%40N08%2F" target="_blank" target="_blank">Kim Tairi</a>. "We have a center for astrophysics and supercomputing here ... [so we] set up an area on campus [where] people could come past and get a look at the eclipse," she says.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/121114112833-solar-eclipse-ireport-guys.jpg?q=w_640,h_360,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
