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THE BURNING 'RING OF FIRE' ECLIPSE.…..THAT WENT DOWN, DOWN, DOWN THE AMERICAS
BBC Science Focus
|November 2023
The burning ring produced by the Sun and Moon crossing paths won't be seen again in the US until 2039
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On 14 October 2023, a spectacular annular eclipse cut across parts of North, Central and South America. Millions of people watched the 'ring of fire' as it burned across the sky.
The ring travelled over eight US states, Mexico and Panama, then crossed into Brazil before heading out over the Atlantic Ocean. The whole event took place over 2.5 hours, with the annular eclipse lasting only 4-5 minutes in the middle of the astronomical phenomenon.
An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, but when the Moon's elliptical orbit hasn't brought it close enough to Earth to completely block out the star. As a result, a small fiery halo of sunlight, known as the 'annulus', remains visible.
This story is from the November 2023 edition of BBC Science Focus.
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