WHAT IS AN ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE?
Annular solar eclipses are rare and considered as a sort of variant on a partial solar eclipse.
An annular solar eclipse appears similar to a total eclipse in that the moon appears to pass centrally across the sun, creating a “counterfeit twilight”.
The event occurs when the three objects are not quite fully aligned with the moon being vastly smaller than the sun, and the sun is not completely covered.
As Space.com explains: “During such an eclipse, the antumbra, a theoretical continuation of the umbra, reaches the ground, and anyone situated within it can look up past either side of the umbra and see an annulus, or “ring of fire” around the moon.
“A good analogy is putting a penny atop a nickel, the penny being the moon, the nickel being the sun.”
