Baily's Beads Definition

bālēz

noun

Dots or patches of sunlight visible along the edge of the darkened moon's disk in the seconds before and after totality during a full solar eclipse, caused by sunlight passing through valleys in the moon's uneven topography.

American Heritage

Bright spots visible along the rim of the moon during a total eclipse of the sun, just before or after totality, caused by sunlight passing through the moon's valleys and clefts.

Webster's New World

Origin of Baily's Beads

After Francis Baily (1774–1844), British astronomer who first observed them in 1836

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition