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What Is A 'Ring Of Fire' Annular Solar Eclipse? NASA Explains
Space.com
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29/04/2025
NASA explains how a 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse occurs and how it differs from a total solar eclipse.
WARNING: People should always use protective solar eclipse eyewear when viewing a solar eclipse.
Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Tech
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00:00
Roughly every year or two, somewhere in the world, the Sun appears for a few moments as
00:05
a ring of fire in the sky.
00:08
This is called an annular solar eclipse.
00:11
Annular comes from the Latin word annulus, which means ring.
00:15
An annular solar eclipse occurs when a new moon passes directly in front of the Sun but
00:20
appears too small to cover it completely.
00:23
But why is that?
00:24
It's because the Moon's orbit around Earth isn't a perfect circle, but rather an ellipse,
00:29
or slightly oval-shaped.
00:31
This causes the Moon to move closer to us and then farther away during its month-long orbit.
00:37
When the Moon is at its closest point, called perigee, it appears slightly larger in our
00:41
sky.
00:43
When it's farthest from us, at apogee, it appears a little smaller.
00:48
But we don't see an annular eclipse every month.
00:50
That's because the Moon's orbit is also slightly tilted in relation to Earth's orbit around
00:56
the Sun.
00:57
This means during most months, the Moon is either too high or too low to block the Sun.
01:02
So only when a new Moon is at apogee and passes directly between Earth and the Sun, do spectators
01:08
on Earth get the rare opportunity to see the ring of fire in the sky.
01:13
Unlike a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely covers the Sun, during an annular
01:17
eclipse, the Sun never fully disappears.
01:21
So if you're lucky enough to be in the path of an annular solar eclipse, make sure to wear
01:25
your solar eclipse glasses or use other safe solar filters to witness this spectacular ring
01:31
of fire in the sky.
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