JIM DAMASKE | Times
The setting and partly eclipsed sun melts into the horizon over the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday off Sand Key in Clearwater. The moon passed in front of the sun late in the afternoon, causing the partial solar eclipse. The eclipse began at 3:37 p.m. and ended at 7:51 p.m. In the eastern United States, the eclipse reached its maximum around sunset — 6:52 p.m. in the Tampa Bay area. Enhancing the eclipse, the sun currently has a massive sunspot that's flinging out substantial solar flares. "The spot, called Active Region 12192 … is easily big enough to swallow the Earth whole without it even coming close to touching the sides, and the whole region is larger than that," said astronomer Phil Plait, who blogs for Slate. "It's the biggest sunspot we've seen this solar cycle.''