"Ring of Fire" Solar Eclipse: How to Watch This Breathtaking Phenomenon on June 10

The "super flower blood moon" lunar eclipse that occurred last month was far from the only interesting astronomical occurrence of the season. A rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse will appear next week, making for an even more spectacular show.

The eclipse will be visible to skywatchers all across the world on June 10.

Annular Solar Eclipse

When the moon passes squarely between the Earth and the sun, covering the sun's light entirely, a total solar eclipse occurs. The moon does not entirely hide the sun during an annular solar eclipse, leaving a bright ring of sunlight visible.

According to NASA, an annular eclipse can only happen under certain circumstances. The moon must be in its first lunar phase and further away from Earth in its elliptical orbit, making it look smaller in the sky than usual.

Because the moon seems smaller under these conditions, it is unable to completely hide out the sun, resulting in a "ring of fire" or "ring of light."

"As the duo climbs higher in the sky, the Moon's silhouette will progressively shift away from the Sun to the lower left, revealing more of the Sun until the eclipse concludes," NASA explained.

The new moon occurs on Thursday, June 10, at 6:53 a.m. ET, when it will obscure the sun. Look to the east to view it.

June's Full Moon

On Thursday, June 10, the new moon will pass in front of the sun, creating the year's first solar eclipse. On that day, the moon will be too far away from us in its elliptical orbit around the Earth to totally obscure the sun. At mid-eclipse, a brilliant annulus - or ring - will encircle the new moon silhouette. It's the sun's rim, just visible but not completely obscured. These eclipses have been dubbed "ring of fire" eclipses. They are, in essence, partial eclipses, though spectacular ones. An annular eclipse, like any other partial eclipse, necessitates the use of eye protection. Observing with one's unassisted eye will result in eye injury.

In Canada, Greenland, the Arctic Ocean, and Siberia, the eclipse's narrow path will be entirely visible. It will be partially visible for much of the rest of northeastern North America, Greenland, Northern Europe, and northern Asia.

The moon will obscure nearly 80% of the left side of the sun when they rise together in the east-northeast at 5:42 a.m. from the Washington, D.C. region. According to NASA, the sun will look like a crescent during this time.