![Baily’s beads seen during a total eclipse of the Sun.[Credits : Luc Viatour]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/19/126219-003-09FA9921.gif)
arc of bright spots seen during a total eclipse of the Sun. They are named for Francis Baily, an English astronomer, who first called attention to them. Just before the Moon’s disk completely covers the Sun, the narrow crescent of sunlight may be broken in several places by irregularities (mountains and valleys) on the edge of the Moon’s disk; the resulting array of spots roughly resembles a string of beads.
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