Rare 'ring of fire' solar eclipse: Hypnotizing pictures from across the globe
A stunning annular eclipse swept across parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia Sunday and the cameras were clicking.
The eclipse as seen from Al Thuraya Astronomy Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The first of two solar eclipses for 2020 turned the sun into a glowing "ring of fire" on Sunday. People situated along a narrow band of the world, across parts of Africa and Asia, were the lucky few who got to see the rare "annular" eclipse firsthand.
An annular solar eclipse happens when the moon is too far away from the Earth to completely hide the sun, leaving a ring of sunlight around the moon. That is how these types of eclipses get their poetic "ring of fire" nickname.
The full annular eclipse was visible from parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia throughout Sunday. Northern India experienced a near-full eclipse, with 99.4% of the sun blocked during the peak.
We've rounded up some of the best images filtering through the web below. We'll keep updating this piece with some of the best we find.
Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, nabbed some wonderful images from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a launching pad for NASA astronauts over the last nine years.
On June 21, a number of Russian regions could witness partial #solareclipse. In 2020 this astronomical event coincided with the summer solstice.
— РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) June 21, 2020
Notably, the ring solar eclipse started at 04:48 UTC in Central Africa with the longest phase visible in the Himalayas for 38 seconds pic.twitter.com/94XsID6SHo
Meanwhile, these photos were taken by our photographers at the #Baikonur Cosmodrome. If you have managed to capture this astronomical moment, share the photos! pic.twitter.com/6XbUuHHxDj
— РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) June 21, 2020
Indian journalist Pankaj Jain grabbed this epic snap.
सूर्य ग्रहण की ताजा तस्वीर... 🖤#Eclipse #CameraClick By @PankajJainClick pic.twitter.com/Hm4nR46ejh
— Pankaj Jain (@PankajJainClick) June 21, 2020
Annularity happened around not long after midday, local time, in Sirsa, India. This capture, from Time and Date's YouTube stream, shows a ghostly, orange ring surrounding the shadowed moon.
This is the ring of fire.
Cloudy skies across parts of India made for striking visions.
The skies played romance with the Sun!#solareclipse seen from Delhi. © TashiTobgyal/ @IndianExpress #SolarEclipse2020 #SolarEclipsejune2020 #Eclipse pic.twitter.com/n3eq8KFTqW
— Tashi Tobgyal (@tashitobgyal) June 21, 2020
An incredible video of the #SolarEclipse2020, shot by me today!
— Charu Pragya (@CharuPragya) June 21, 2020
Notice how clear the ring is! My childhood science textbook has come alive. 😀💫 pic.twitter.com/O8MhDUWDAr
June 21 #solareclipse just now from Nangang, Taipei #日環食 #eclipse pic.twitter.com/iUxYuj7llO
— Foreigners in Taiwan 🇹🇼🚁📷🇹🇼 (@foreignersinTW) June 21, 2020
Solar Eclipse 2020 as seen from Bulakan, Bulacan PH.
— hilpot28 (@hilpot28) June 21, 2020
Taken from 3:10pm to 4:25pm, June 21, 2020.#SolarEclipse2020 #solareclipse pic.twitter.com/Y3XtNO7uSg
@earthshakerph @gmanews @ABSCBNNews @YouScoop #SolarEclipse2020 #Eklipse2020
— Eliezer Caccam (@swordprotector) June 21, 2020
Location: Brgy. Santa Ana, Pateros
Camera: Canon EOS 600D pic.twitter.com/r8wMacxBlO
Here’s another shot of annular solar eclipse happening now over Chiayi City in Taiwan. #solareclipse #SolarEclipse2020 pic.twitter.com/3vBsbyqoND
— Preston Phillips (@PrestonTVNews) June 21, 2020
Captured Solar eclipse of June 21, 2020 - Nikon D3300 #SolarEclipse2020 #solareclipse#SolarEclipsejune2020 #solareclipseindia #solareclipsedehradun@Dehradun Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/cbGH1PUSDt
— Anuruddha Saxena (@AnuruddhaSaxena) June 21, 2020
LOOK: The partial solar eclipse at its maximum as seen from Batangas City as of 4:23 pm. Photo by Elliot Andal #SolarEclipse2020 pic.twitter.com/A4NNEZvngJ
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) June 21, 2020
Of course, it wasn't all clear skies...
Expectation v/s Reality#SolarEclipse2020 #solareclipse pic.twitter.com/w58i5OZmkL
— Ashutosh ') (@dubeyji08) June 21, 2020
This won't be the only eclipse of the year. A total solar eclipse is on tap for Dec. 14 for viewers in parts of South America.
