Mangaluru: The annular solar eclipse began at 7:59 on Thursday morning. The beautiful eclipse of December 26 is known as ‘annular solar eclipse’.
People across the world geared up to witness the phenomenon on Thursday morning. Since the moon would not completely cover the sun during this eclipse, it forms a ‘Ring of Fire’ and this is the phenomenon that everybody waits to watch.
The solar eclipse that occurs once in nine years is said to be prominently visible in southern parts of South India. The annular phase of this solar eclipse is visible from Saudi Arabia, Oman, southern India, and parts of Indonesia, weather permitting.
In most of Asia, parts of North/East Africa, and North/West Australia, people can see a partial eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the Sun for a viewer on Earth.
An annular solar eclipse takes place when the Moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than that of the Sun’s and blocks most of the Sun’s light. This causes the Sun to look like a ring (annulus) of fire.
The December 26 solar eclipse will be the last solar eclipse of the year. The solar eclipse will last for six hours, ending shortly after 1.30 pm.