Rather than looking up at the sun through glasses, many could observe the progress to totality through shadows on the ground. A solar eclipse brings along many different phenomena to observe within the span of a few minutes before, during and after totality that are not usually seen with the eye on a normal day.

One of those strange phenomena are crescent shadows. As the moon slowly crosses over the sun, the shadows casted on the ground take form of what’s happening in the sky. Light from the sun projects through the foliage, like a pinhole camera, allowing a safe way to see the progress of the eclipse without looking up. 

Shadows on the floor become much sharper as color loses its contrast. Anything that has the ability to cast a shadow while still allowing small amounts of sunlight to peek through have the opportunity to create this effect.

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Trees are particularly skilled at showing off these unique shadows and are most easy to view right before or right after the eclipse reaches its totality. 

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