The term for this dramatic alignment of the moon and sun is an annular or “ring of fire” solar eclipse.Scientists and astronomers gathered in Tennant Creek, Australia to watch an annular Solar eclipse on Friday.
The eclipse, which occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun but is too close to the Earth to completely cover the Sun, was seen in full across northern Australia, while Sydney saw a partial eclipse.It was a rare spectacular movement viewed by millions around the world.
There was an mysterious silence all around while the solar eclipse place and casting a shadow that plunged the land into darkness, sending temperatures dropping.
The weather was clear for the partial eclipse, which could only be viewed safely through telescopes and binoculars fitted with solar filters.
At 7:50am this morning the moon slid partially between us and the Sun, kind of like a game of piggy-in-the-middle,” said the observatory’s Geoffrey Wyatt.
The sky-gazers were treated to an annular solar eclipse in remote areas of Australia on Friday.
The next total solar eclipse will be visible from Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Americas in November 2013.
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