Great American Eclipse in Nashville, USA (2017)

After a brief moment in the morning where it looked like clouds could ruin our solar eclipse experience we had a sigh of relief at the First contact phase when suddenly all clouds had disappeared. We were really happy to be in an airbnb in the middle of a forest near the city of Nashville in Tennessee, USA.

First Contact (or C1) in a solar eclipse is the precise moment the moon's edge first appears to touch the sun's edge, starting the partial phase where the moon begins to cover the sun, looking like a small bite taken out of the solar disk, viewed safely with eclipse glasses as the black moon starts moving from the sun's right side (Northern Hemisphere view).

Witnessing the first diamond ring appear while experiencing the total solar eclipse near the city of Nashville in Tennessee, USA.

The first diamond ring effect during a total solar eclipse is a dazzling visual phenomenon that occurs momentarily just before totality begins, when the last single point of brilliant sunlight (the "diamond") shines through a lunar valley, set against the faint glow of the solar corona (the "ring").

Watching the second contact stage at the total solar eclipse near the city of Nashville in Tennessee, USA.

Second contact in a solar eclipse is the precise moment the moon's edge fully covers the sun's edge, marking the start of totality (or annularity), where you can safely remove eclipse glasses to see the sun's corona, chromosphere, and prominences. It's a dramatic shift where darkness suddenly deepens, and the sun's atmosphere becomes visible.

We really enjoyed watching Baily's beads appearing while witnessing the solar eclipse near the city of Nashville in Tennessee, USA.

Baily's beads are the shimmering points of sunlight that appear along the edge of the Moon just before and after a total or annular solar eclipse, caused by sunlight streaming through the Moon's rugged valleys and mountains. This beautiful effect, named for astronomer Francis Baily, looks like a string of glowing beads or a diamond ring and highlights the uneven lunar terrain before the Sun is fully covered or reappears.

It was truly spectacular to witness the totality phase and watching the corona around the sun, all from our comfortable airbnb near the city of Nashville in Tennessee, USA.

A solar eclipse totality is the brief, spectacular period when the moon perfectly blocks the sun's bright face, revealing its faint outer atmosphere (corona) and creating darkness during the day, visible only within a narrow "path of totality" for a few minutes at most, making it a rare natural wonder.

The totality phase is almost over and the moon is slowly moving away. I was very happy with the results of the photos that came out of witnessing this great solar eclipse near the city of Nashville in Tennessee, USA.

Admiring the second diamond ring while witnessing the total solar eclipse near the city of Nashville in Tennessee, USA.

The second diamond ring in a solar eclipse is the dazzling flash of sunlight appearing at the end of totality, signaling the Sun's emergence from behind the moon, just as the first one marked its disappearance at the start; it's caused by sunlight glinting through lunar valleys (Baily's Beads), creating a brilliant "diamond" on a ring of corona, a stunning, brief moment before the sun becomes too bright to look at safely.

After almost three hours the "last contact" (C4) of the solar eclipse was reached. It is the precise moment the moon's trailing edge completely leaves the sun's disk, ending the partial phase and signaling the official end of the entire eclipse event. Together with the people we rented the airbnb from we had a great time experiencing this phenomenon near the city of Nashville in Tennessee, USA.