Amazing Photos Show Rare Solar Eclipse That Happened This Weekend

Amazing photographs from around the world have documented the rare solar eclipse that happened over the weekend.

Unfortunately for those of us sitting over here in the United Kingdom, the solar event wasn't something we could take part in, but for a large swathe of the rest of the world, they were treated to a spectacular celestial show.

Millions of people in places like China, India, and the Middle East managed to get snaps of the eclipse, which saw the moon cover over as much as 85 percent of the sun, and the photographs that they managed to get do not disappoint.

That means that - whilst it wasn't visible over our particular part of the world - we can still safely enjoy the event without getting up in the middle of the night or having to protect our eyes.

The annular eclipse - which happened to coincide with the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere - happens when the moon is too far away from the earth to completely cover over the sun.

That means that, if you're lucky enough to be in the path of it, you can observe a stunning 'ring of fire' around the moon as the sun passes behind it.

However, it definitely means that you need to take steps to protect your eyes, as the sun will remain visible the whole time that it's happening.

Last week, NASA shared a video of a similar eclipse taking place in Western Australia back in 2013 in order to give people an idea of what they could expect to see.

Of that eclipse, they said: "In the early morning of 2013 May 10, from Western Australia, the Moon was between the Earth and the rising Sun.

"At times, it would be hard for the uninformed to understand what was happening. In an annular eclipse, the Moon is too far from the Earth to block the entire Sun, and at most leaves a ring of fire where sunlight pours out around every edge of the Moon."

As for this one, the path took the event over central and western Africa, out over the Middle East and places like Saudi Arabia, then into northern India, southern China, and South Korea, before heading out into the Pacific Ocean.

Naturally, millions of people trained their eyes and, more importantly, their cameras on it.

The pictures that have been shared nearly make up for the fact that it didn't happen for us over in western Europe.

Oh well, maybe next time.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, Interesting, Weird, space

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a LADbible journalist and Twin Peaks enthusiast. Despite having a career in football cut short by a chronic lack of talent, he managed to obtain degrees from both the University of London and Salford. According to his French teacher, at the weekend he mostly likes to play football and go to the park with his brother. Contact Tom on [email protected]

@TPWagwim