The world is about to welcome a bright solar eclipse shaped like a ring of fire

Astronomy enthusiasts will have the chance to see an annular solar eclipse, also known as the ring of fire, this weekend in some areas of the Southern Hemisphere.

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An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is not large enough to completely cover the Sun. Photo: Telegraph.

An annular solar eclipse, also known as the Ring of Fire, will appear in South America, southern Africa and part of the Atlantic Ocean on February 26, according to Phys.org.

The eclipse will begin at 7:10 p.m. Vietnam time. The area where people can best observe this phenomenon is a narrow strip 100 km wide, cutting across Chile, Argentina, Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vietnam is not in the area where this phenomenon can be observed.

"About 90% of the Sun is covered. You'll notice a noticeable drop in temperature and brightness. When the Moon is directly in the middle of the Sun, it creates a beautiful symmetrical circle of light," said Terry Moseley, a member of the Astronomical Society of Ireland.

Moseley advised people not to view the eclipse directly with the naked eye and to wear protective glasses. Although the Moon blocks most of the sunlight, the radiation emitted is still strong enough to burn the retina.

A solar eclipse occurs during a new moon, when the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, and the shadow of the Moon is facing Earth. In a total solar eclipse, the Moon's orbit is directly in front of the Sun and blocks out all of the Sun's light.

In an annular solar eclipse, the Moon still passes in front of the Sun. Because of its elliptical orbit, the Earth is very close to the Sun while the Moon is far from Earth. The Moon and the Sun form two concentric circles, but the Moon is much smaller and cannot completely cover the Sun when viewed from Earth. The result is a bright "ring of fire" in the sky./.

According to VNE