The "ring of fire eclipse" occurred on June 10th and was visible from many parts of the world. It began near Lake superior and was visible from the United States to Russia and even Northern Asia. But those from Canada had the best view as it lasted for 3 minutes there. Now some may have had the pleasure of seeing a full ring while others may have just seen a partial ring. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter is that this view is mind-blowing and now let's get into the specifics?
What type of eclipse is this?
This is a solar eclipse but... solar eclipses can be identified into two other categories — total eclipse and annular eclipse. A total eclipse is the one in which the moon covers the sun and a shadow is cast on the Earth. On the other hand, in an annular eclipse, the moon covers the majority of the sun but leaves a small portion of the sun creating a ring-shaped sun or "ring of fire" eclipse.
But why exactly did this eclipse happen?
This kind of eclipse happens when the moon is furthest away from the Earth and covers most of the sun, but because of the Moon's small size, some part of the sun was still left visible, creating a ring effect around the sun.
How often do these solar eclipses occur?
Solar eclipses tend to happen about every six months, but many aren't widespread, not letting us see most of them. If you missed this one, mark your calendar because the next annular solar eclipse will happen on October 14th of 2023. I'm certain you don't want to miss it!