In Pictures

In Pictures: ‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse wows millions

While such eclipses occur every year or two, they are only visible from a narrow band of earth each time.

The moon passes between the sun and the earth during an annular solar eclipse in Doha, Qatar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Skywatchers from Qatar and Oman to India and Singapore were treated to a rare “ring of fire” solar eclipse on Thursday.

Annular eclipses occur when the moon is not close enough to the earth to completely obscure the sun, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.

While these types of eclipses occur every year or two, they are only visible from a narrow band of earth each time and it can be decades before the same pattern is repeated.

Depending on weather conditions, this year’s astronomical phenomenon was set to be visible from the Middle East across southern India and Southeast Asia before ending over the northern Pacific.

The next annual eclipse in June 2020 will be visible to a narrow band from Africa to northern Asia.

The following one in June 2021 will only be seen in the Arctic and parts of Canada, Greenland and the eastern parts of Russia.

Monks wearing solar filter glasses watch a "ring of fire" solar eclipse at the Gaden monastery in a Tibetan colony in Teginkoppa, 50km south of Dharwad in India''s southern Karnataka state, on December — Monks wearing solar filter glasses watch the solar eclipse at the Gaden monastery in a Tibetan colony in Teginkoppa, 50km south of Dharwad in India's southern Karnataka state. [Rakesh Nagar/AFP]

The moon covers the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from Dhaka on December 26, 2019. (Photo by Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP) — The "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from Dhaka, Bangladesh. There are usually two solar eclipses every year, they occur only when the earth is completely or partially in the moon's shadow. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

The moon moves in front of the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from Bangkok on December 26, 2019. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) — The moon moves in front of the sun in Bangkok. The previous solar eclipse was on July 2 and was visible almost exclusively over South America. [Mladen Antonov/AFP]

The moon totally covers the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from the south Indian city of Dindigul in Tamil Nadu state on December 26, 2019. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) — The moon totally covers the sun during the rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from the southern Indian city of Dindigul. [Arun Sankar/AFP]

A woman watches a solar eclipse with a telescope in Islamabad on December 26, 2019. (Photo by Farooq NAEEM / AFP) — A woman watches the solar eclipse through a telescope in Islamabad. [Farooq Naeem/AFP]

The moon covers the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from Colombo on December 26, 2019. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP) — The moon covers the sun as seen from Colombo, Sri Lanka. The next annual eclipse in June 2020 will be visible to a narrow band from Africa to northern Asia. [Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP]

The moon passes between the sun and the earth during an annular solar eclipse in Madinat Zayed in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, December 26, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike — The solar eclipse from the Madinat Zayed in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi. These types of eclipses occur every year or two but are only visible from a narrow band of the earth each time. [Christopher Pike/Reuters]