The sun is completely covered by the moon and the corona is visible. Also you can see a small star to the upper left of the sun - Regulus. And the solar flare on the right makes a small disturbance.
Corona
Highlands, North Carolina, United States - 21 Aug 2017
We were staying in Highlands, NC for the eclipse totality. The home had a rooftop patio - perfect for the eclipse. I spent the day before setting up to tripods and cameras and practicing shooting the sun. The day of the eclipse clouds began moving in from the east as the time move the clouds became denser. Finally I decided we had to move.
We loaded into the car and raced down the mountains to Franklin, NC. Virginia Ann was watching the sky for a clear view of the sun as we drove west. In Franklin we set up in a strip mall parking lot along with about 30 photographers. The clouds were visible and moving toward us - we were nervous.
It became clear the clouds would arrive before the eclipse and everyone began tearing down and heading to the cars. We drove west again Virginia Ann looking for an opening. With minutes to spare we pulled into a church parking lot and set up.
Using a 1.4x extender on a 100-400 lens to achieve 560mm - as close as i could go. I was shooting at all kinds of exposures to ensure a good composure. The clouds caught us minutes after this picture. The partial eclipse in the clouds are very cool pictures due to the colors of the eclipse. Here is one of them on our personal site
Cal Holman Posted on 11 Oct 2026