Rare ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse to dim Africa, Asia
Skywatchers along a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and southern China will witness the most dramatic "ring of fire" solar eclipse to shadow the Earth in years today.
Annular eclipses occur when the Moon - passing between Earth and the Sun - is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.
They occur every year or two, and can only be seen from a narrow pathway across the planet.
Remarkably, the eclipse on Sunday arrives on the northern hemisphere's longest day of the year - the summer solstice - when Earth's north pole is tilted most directly towards the Sun.
A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into Earth's shadow. Lunar eclipses are visible from about half of Earth's surface.
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