Etymology

Baily's beads

Today it means: A feature of total solar eclipses. As the moon "grazes" by the sun during a solar eclipse, the rugged lunar limb topography allows beads of sunlight to shine through in some places and not in others. Full definition →

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The story

In honour of Francis Baily, who first fully explained the phenomenon in 1836.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.