A Solar Eclipse with a Beaded Ring of Fire

Explanation: What kind of eclipse is this? On Sunday , visible in parts of Earth's southern hemisphere, the Moon blocked part of the Sun during a partial solar eclipse . In some locations, though, the effect was a rare type of partial eclipse called an annular eclipse . There, since the Moon is too far from the Earth to block the entire Sun, sunlight streamed around the edges of the Moon creating a “ ring of fire ”. At some times, though, the effect was a rare type of annular eclipse . Then, an edge of the Moon nearly aligned with an edge of the Sun, allowing sunlight to stream through only low areas on the Moon. Called a “ Baily's bead ” or a “diamond ring”, this doubly rare effect was captured Sunday in the feature photograph from Chubut , Argentina , in South America . This summer a total solar eclipse will swoop across North America .

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