Polarization of the Sky and the Solar Corona During Total Solar Eclipses

Abstract

During a total solar eclipse, the sun is completely covered by the moon for some minutes, and this immediately transforms the aspect of the sky completely. The sky is not lit up by the radiance of the solar corona alone; the main source of skylight is light coming from outside the area where the totality is taking place and where the sun is still shining (Können 1985). During a total eclipse, a particular type of twilight occurs: most light is seen near the horizon where parts of the atmosphere are still lit by the partially eclipsed sun outside the zone of totality, and the sky is darkest in the zenith.