Sunday's Solar Eclipse and the Empire State Building Made a Beautiful Pairing

Alone, the New York City skyline afire with the golden glow of dawn is a spectacular sight. But throw in a "hybrid" solar eclipse so rare it won't happen again until 2172, and you got yourself a photograph so awesome it might make you gape at your monitor like a deer in the headlights of a monster truck.

Chris Cook captured the singular image at 6:38 a.m. on Sunday morning while the moon photo-bombed the sun for three hours (to count the eclipse's 8,500-mile path over the planet). It was no accident that brought the self-described "over-the-hill" photographer from Harwich, Massachusetts, to the big city. Cook had been planning for months on how to best capture the once-in-a-lifetime event, first thinking he'd shoot it behind the new World Trade Center before logistical issues forced him to select another famous landmark, the Empire State Building.