Watch: Moon blots out sun for 'ring of fire' eclipse
· RTE.ieThe moon blotted out most of the sun across the Pacific Ocean yesterday afternoon, creating an impressive annular "ring of fire" eclipse.
Only Easter Island and a small area near the southern tip of Chile and Argentina were able to witness the event, which lasted just a few minutes.
An annular eclipse happens when the moon is too far away from Earth to completely blot out the sun, like a total eclipse, creating a dark silhouette surrounded by a bright ring of light called an antumbra, or more casually, a "ring of fire."
As the sun darkened over the island, people gathered outdoors, chanted, played music, and wore special eyewear to catch a glimpse of the eclipse.
An estimated 175,000 people live in the path of the eclipse's annularity, giving far-flung residents and eclipse-chasing tourists a stunning view.
The southern half of South America, along with parts of Antarctica and Hawaii, saw a partial eclipse according to a map plotted out by NASA.