Annular Eclipse: The Ring of Fire

Tomorrow, a few lucky people may see a “ring of fire.” That's a name for the central view of an annular eclipse of the Sun by the Moon . At the peak of this eclipse , the middle of the Sun will appear to be missing and the dark Moon will appear to be surrounded by the bright Sun. This will only be visible, however, from a path that crosses the southern Indian Ocean . From more populated locations, southern Africa and parts of Australia , most of the Moon will only appear to take a bite out the Sun . Remember to never look directly at the Sun even during an eclipse. An annular eclipse occurs instead of a total eclipse when the Moon is on the far part of its elliptical orbit around the Earth . The next annular eclipse of the Sun will take place in 2010 January, although a total solar eclipse will occur this July. Pictured above, a spectacular annular eclipse was photographed behind palm trees on 1992 January.