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Space
Space
Science
Jamie Carter

Rare 'double sunrise' captured in Canada by intrepid solar eclipse chasers (photos)

The sun appears to rise above the horizon as two points of light, creating a strange double sunrise effect.

On March 29, while much of Europe saw a partial solar eclipse in mid-morning, in parts of North America, it was possible to see an eclipse sunrise, with clear skies allowing.

Here are some of the spectacular photos taken by intrepid eclipse chasers who scattered across New Brunswick and Québec, Canada, to dodge clouds and get a clear shot of something spectacular.

Related: Solar eclipse shines over Stonehenge in stunning photo from Astrophotographer Josh Dury

The eclipsed sunrise from New Brunswick, Canada

In New Brunswick, the place to be in this region was Moncton, about a two-hour drive to the east of Saint Andrews. "I knew this weather was coming from the southwest, so we went up to the main highway and came back down at a town called Alma on the coast of the Bay of Fundy," said Andrea Girones, an astrophotographer from Ottawa, Canada. "There was a piece of land that could have blocked the sun, so I mapped it in Photo Pills so I knew where the sun was going to come up …it was really cold and very windy."

Andrea Girones captured the "double sunrise" from Alma on the coast of the Bay of Fundy. (Image credit: Andrea Girones)
(Image credit: Andrea Girones)

Girones later published an impressive composite image of the partially eclipsed sun rising.

"With cloud approaching from the west we managed to have an incredibly clear view to the east at dawn and witnessed this lovely event," Girones told Space.com in an email. "Thankfully it was low tide ( "You did check the tides before we left?" asked my concerned husband)"

Partial solar eclipse composite image captured by Andrea Girones on March 29. (Image credit: Andrea Girones)

Girones' photograph blends an unfiltered panorama shot before sunrise and a composite with filtered images of the sun once it rose. Girones then assembled the image in Photoshop.

The eclipsed sunrise from Québec, Canada

Jörg Schoppmeyer observed the rising eclipsed sun — and a mirage effect — also from Pointe-Lebel, Baie-Comau. "The eclipse was recorded with a Baader Travel Companion 95/560 in 4K," he wrote on YouTube. "The 'thing' on the ocean on the right side is a ship which moves from left to right." It was Schoppmeyer's 65th eclipse.

Further southwest at Les Escoumins, Québec — where the St Lawrence River is very wide — Mike Kentrianakis and Kevin Wood also imaged the "double sunrise."

"Finding this alignment was challenging, to say the least. However, hard work and perseverance paid off, as we witnessed something rarely seen that morning," Wood told Space.com in an email.

Rare "double-sunrise" during the partial solar eclipse from Les Escoumins, Quebec. (Image credit: Kevin Wood)

Wood found the right place to capture the incredible "double sunrise" at the perfect moment.

"Like headlights through the fog, rising through the morning's murk and mire. The crescent tips of an eclipsed sun break the horizon simultaneously, giving the illusion of two." Wood continued.

Kentrianakis captured a series of dramatic sunrise photographs during the partial solar eclipse.

(Image credit: Mike Kentrianakis)
(Image credit: Mike Kentrianakis)
(Image credit: Mike Kentrianakis)
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