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Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Observers across parts of western United States were treated to a spectacular annular, or "ring of fire," eclipse on Saturday as the Moon passed between the Sun and the Earth. An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun while it is near its furthest orbital distance, meaning the Moon ends up covering less of the Sun than it would during a total eclipse.
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This allows for a visible ring, or halo, to be seen around the perimeter of the Moon's shadow, making for a majestic optical effect.
"Just incredible," wrote Space.com Editor Brett Tingley as he observed the eclipse from Great Basin National Park in Nevada, noting that clouds had threatened to ruin the view until immediately before the event began when they parted just in time.
Millions of people across North, Central and South America were in line to witness the rare event as it unfolded on Saturday, including people situated along a narrow path stretching from Oregon to Texas in the United States.
People outside the path of the annular eclipse saw see a partial eclipse, in which part of the Sun is covered by the Moon without creating the "ring of fire" effect, according to NASA, which also released an online map of the eclipse's path.
In San Antonio, which was in the direct path, watch parties were set up around the city, including at the Scobee Education Center and Planetarium, where hundreds of people came to see the event, KENS-TV reported.
As in Nevada, clouds parted in Texas just in time to view the full "ring of fire" effect.
"It's not an event that happens all the time close by. It was an opportunity we couldn't pass up," Francinsca Ogundele of Houston told the broadcaster.
NASA had advised people to use protective "certified solar viewing glasses," to look at the eclipse or to use a pinhole projector to show the outline of the eclipse without having to look directly at it.
The next solar eclipse will cross the United States from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024.
