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The moon partially covers the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen through clouds from Karachi on 21 June 2020. Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP

Solar eclipse: Best ‘Ring of Fire’ images from around the world

June’s annular solar eclipse is the second eclipse in a 3-eclipse season, as well as the first of two solar eclipses for 2020.

annular solar eclipse ring of fire (1)

The moon partially covers the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen through clouds from Karachi on 21 June 2020. Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP

The annular solar eclipse, also known as a “ring of fire” covered as much as 99.4% of the Sun for less than a minute early Sunday morning. The eclipse was visible from parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Unfortunately, many international eclipse-chasers in the northern-western hemisphere were unable to travel to witness the rare event, all thanks to COVID-19-related travel bans and lockdowns still in place in most parts of the world.

annular solar eclipse ring of fire (1)
The moon moves in front of the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen through clouds from New Delhi on June 21, 2020. (Photo by Jewel Samad / AFP)

If you are one of the unlucky people who missed out on the spectacular event, we’ve got your back. Here follows a collection of some of the best photos taken from around the world.

Ring of Fire solar eclipse 2020: What you need to know

The partial annular solar eclipse lasted in total just under six hours between 05:45 and 11:34 South African Standard Time (SAST). It was visible from the Republic of Congo in Central Africa to Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

The window of visibility in South Africa was between 6:57 and 7:14, lasing only 21 minutes. The “maximum eclipse” period, when the moon was exactly in the centre of the sun’s disc, lasted on 38 to 82 seconds.

Anyone who wanted to track the solar eclipse had to take care of their eyesight and use only ISO-graded eclipse glasses. Ethiopia was where some of the first images came from. This photo was taken in Lalibela.

An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon covers the Sun’s centre, “leaving the Sun’s visible outer edges to create an “annulus”, or “ring of fire”, around the Moon.

Annulus is the Latin word for “ring”. In addition, these eclipses are named for “their darkest, or maximum, point even if it only lasts less than a second”. The closer you are to the central line of the totality, the darker it will be in your region.

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The moon partially covers the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen from Bangalore on June 21, 2020. (Photo by Manjunath Kiran / AFP)

A partial solar eclipse happens when the moon doesn’t block the sun entirely.

“In 2020, many locations will see a rare solstice annular solar eclipse on the same day as the June solstice. This will happen only twice this century, in 2020 and on 21 June 2039”.

 TimeAndDate

This photo was taken from Aden, Yemen, by Mubarak Saeed.

annular solar eclipse ring of fire (1)
This photo was taken from Aden, Yeme, by Mubarak Saeed. Image via Twitter: @Middleclipse