PHOTO: Ring of Fire in the Sky, the first such eclipse in 2021
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, casting a shadow over the Earth. It thus completely or partially blocks sunlight in some areas.
During the ring eclipse, the Moon is far enough away from the Earth and it acts as if it is smaller than the Sun in the sky. Because the Moon does not completely block the Sun, it appears to have a dark circle over a larger, brighter circle. This shape creates the illusion of a "ring of fire" around the moon.
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This atomic event in the northern hemisphere was most visible to people in Canada, Greenland and northern Russia, and in other parts of the country the "ring of fire" was not visible, but only a partial solar eclipse. An eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are not exactly aligned.
This is the first of two eclipses to occur this year.
The eclipse began in Canada, north of the Great Lakes, passed northeast of the country to the Arctic Ocean, then turned from the North Pole and was expected to end in northeastern Siberia.