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News > World

'Ring of Fire' Eclipse Thrills Africa, Asia

  • Thursday’s eclipse was visible in Saudi Arabia as well as Singapore, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

    Thursday’s eclipse was visible in Saudi Arabia as well as Singapore, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. | Photo: Reuters

Published 26 December 2019
Opinion

The astronomical phenomenon, in which a thin outer ring of the sun is visible, could be observed in an area that extends from Pakistan and India to Thailand and Indonesia.

Thousands of skywatchers gathered across parts of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania on Thursday to glimpse the sun forming a ring of fire around the moon in a rare annular solar eclipse.

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In this case, the Moon covers the center of the Sun, which makes it look just like a bright ring.  Usually, there are two solar eclipses on Earth every year. They occur when the Earth is completely or partially in the shadow of the Moon.

Thursday’s was visible in Saudi Arabia as well as Singapore, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

“This will be the first of only two annular eclipses visible from Singapore for the rest of the century. So in that sense, it’s a very rare event for us,” Albert Ho, president of the Astronomical Society of Singapore said to Reuters.  

#Eclipse solar total will be broadcast live by @NASA 

The authorities in Indonesia provided telescopes and hundreds of special crystals to protect the eyes of observers. Thousands of people looked at the sky and cheered and cheered when the sun turned into a black sphere for more than two minutes, plunging the sky into darkness. Other hundreds prayed in mosques.

In most years, two solar eclipses are visible from somewhere on Earth. The maximum number is five.

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