Total solar eclipse, corona at totality. The corona is a cloud of low-density plasma (hot ions) surrounding the Sun. Normally it is not visible, being obscured by the brightness of the Sun's visible surface, but it is revealed during a total solar eclipse. The moment of totality lasts for only a few minutes. Total solar eclipses usually occur less than once a year, and can only be seen from a small area of the Earth's surface. This total solar eclipse took place on 2 July 2019. This image was created by the ESA-CESAR team, observing the eclipse from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The image has been processed to highlight the intricate detail of the corona, its structures shaped by the Sun's magnetic field. Some details of the lunar surface can also be seen.