The eclipse has been observed from Sumbe, a locality on the Atlantic coast of Angola. The conditions were ideal: the longest duration for the whole African continent (4mn35s), a cloudless sky, very large sunspots and magnificent prominences. The following images of the eclipse have been taken with a Casio 2 MegaPixels digital camera coupled with a Televue Pronto 70mm refractor on a small equatorial mount. For photographs of the astronomers and their experiments, click here. All the images are the property of T.Legault/P.Plailly/Eurelios and may not be used or reproduced without consent.

Mosaic of the whole sequence, from the first contact to the fourth contact :

Click on the image to see it in large format (500 ko)
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Animation of the whole eclipse:

click here to see a this animation in a larger format (1.5 Mb)

The beginning of the totality phase (second contact), with a large pink prominence reaching 80000 km above the solar surface:

The solar corona from 0 to more than 3 solar radius (combination of 8 exposures from 1/500s to 1/4s), a star is visible on the left side:

The diamond ring effect at the end of the totality phase (third contact):

This animation is a combination of images of the beginning and the end of the totality phase with an image of the solar disk taken just after the eclipse. It clearly shows the difference of apparent size of the Moon and the Sun, as well as the motion of the Moon between the second and the third contact:

Click on the solar disk to see the sunspots in large format

Eclipse sequence re-formed by calculation and superimposed with landscapes of Sumbe:

And some ambiance images:

Many thanks to the people in Luanda and Sumbe for their help and their kindness. Special thanks to the Angolan embassy in Paris and to the department of Science of Angola, who have made this unforgettable experience possible.