On Wednesday (October 2), a lucky handful of skywatchers watched as the sun turned into a stunning "ring of fire" in the sky.
This was the result of an annular solar eclipse that passed over the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, southern Chile and southern Argentina. The "ring of fire" then reached the Atlantic Ocean, where it disappeared from view.
With the annular solar eclipse beginning and ending far from land, it is estimated that only 175,000 people, about 0.002% of the world's population, live in the eclipse's path that allows a full view of the 'ring of fire'.
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One of the most sought-after locations for the solar eclipse was remote Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it is called by its residents, where crowds of sky watchers from around the world gathered to watch the celestial event. Not even the threat of clouds could dampen their excitement.
"Well, that was incredible. The excitement! One cloud left the sun just 10 seconds before the Baily's Beads appeared, and another appeared a minute after the ring ended. We were SO lucky!" Eclipse hunter Jamie Carter, a British science journalist and editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com, told Space.com (where he is an occasional contributor) in an Easter Island update. "It felt incredible to actually see the ring, knowing I had no more than a 50-50 chance. It was so cold in the minutes before the cancellation."
Also present on Easter Island was Josh Drury, an astrophotographer also living in Britain who made the eclipse chase a family affair. His mother accompanied him on the trip.
"A lifelong ambition is almost complete," Drury said via a video update. "An annular solar eclipse, the Pacific "ring of fire, from here at Rapa Nui."
Drury watched the eclipse from near Easter Island's iconic Maoi statues and said it would be another 312 years before the island experiences another similar celestial event.
"I am overwhelmed to experience this eclipse with Martín Tuki, our guide and deceased from the island, and my mother," Drury said. "That's a turnaround for 312 years."
Carter said the entire experience was unforgettable.
"I think the most dramatic two points are when the horned crescent turns into a ring and when it disappears, but the almost six minutes in between were magical," he said. "I wanted to view the ring through eclipse glasses, but I was also focused on seeing and photographing a projection of the ring through the holes of a spaghetti spoon. Awesome! It's one of the few images of an eclipse I had yet to capture ."
More than 240 million people outside the ring's path could see at least part of the Sun, obscured by the Moon's dark disk. Those who couldn't watch the event in person could enjoy the eclipse action with our eclipse live blog and livestream courtesy of timeanddate.com.
This annular solar eclipse may not have been as striking as the total solar eclipse that passed over the continental United States on April 8, 2024, but that didn't stop eclipse observers from capturing some stunning videos and photos of this celestial event.
Annular solar eclipses differ from total solar eclipses because the moon's orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle and it continues to move further away from our planet. That means that sometimes when it crosses the Sun and Earth, it is closer to our planet than at other times.
When the moon is closer to Earth and further from the sun, the moon's disk is not large enough to completely obscure the sun's disk, as during a total solar eclipse. The result is a golden fiery ring around the moon's dark disk. When the Moon's occult disk is completely surrounded by the Sun's disk, it is called the antumbra, and observers experience a "ring of fire" that represents an annular solar eclipse.
On Wednesday, October 2, the annular solar eclipse began at 11:15 a.m. EDT (1542 GMT) over the Pacific Ocean. Regions of the world that experienced the annularity as a result included Easter Island, Cochrane in Chile, and Perito Moreno National Park, Puerto Deseado, Puerto San Julian in Argentina.
Partial solar eclipse
Because the moon is so close to the Earth, at least compared to the sun, its position in the sky varies depending on where an observer is on Earth. That means sky watchers on either side of the ring formation path didn't see a full ring of fire, but they still managed to catch a glimpse of a partial solar eclipse.
In Chile, skywatchers in Punta Arenas could see the sun's disk was 75% obscured by the moon, while observers in Villarrica saw it 62% obscured. Eclipse observers in Argentina saw the sun eclipsed by 72% in Ushuaia, and eclipsed by 42% in Buenos Aires. Off the coast of Argentina, observers in the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean saw 84% of the sun's disk covered by the moon's surface.
Meanwhile, observers in São Paulo, Brazil, are said to have seen only 10% of the sun's disk covered by the moon, making it appear as if the sun had taken a huge bite out of it.
Next solar eclipses
If you missed the October 2 annular solar eclipse, the amazing images captured above will whet your appetite because you won't have to wait too long to see the next solar eclipse.
On March 29, 2025, a partial solar eclipse will sweep across northwest Africa, parts of Europe and northern Russia. Later that year, another partial solar eclipse will be visible from parts of the South Pacific, New Zealand and Antarctica on September 21.
If it's an annular solar eclipse you're interested in seeing, you'll have to wait a little longer until the next "ring of fire" appears over southern Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Antarctica on February 17, 2026.
The next total solar eclipse will occur on August 12, 2026 and will be visible from North America, West Africa and Europe.
If you plan to see one of these solar eclipses, remember that looking at the sun is harmful to your eyes, and it is NEVER safe to look directly at the sun without eclipse glasses designed for solar viewing. Read our guide on how to watch the sun safely.