Ring of Fire from Cape Wrath

Ring of Fire from Cape Wrath



If the Moon's apparen diameteris not quite large enough tocover the Sun during a solar eclipse, an annular eclipsecan be the result - aspectacle of silhouetted Moon surrounded by a solar "ring of fire".Just such a view was possible fo observers in the far northernhemisphere as th newMoon slid across the solar disk on May 31st.Still, fo astronomicaladventurers at Cape Wrath on thenorthwestern coast of Scotland, the eastern sky was cloudy oneclipse day.But fortunately the Sun became visible a few minutesprior to the annular phase and determined astronomer HansCoeckelberghs was able to capture this dramatic telescopic imageof theeclipsed Sun'sring of fire looming through a reddened, cloud-streaked sky.Not to be outdone by the north, the far southern hemisphere willhost the next solar eclipse, with the path of totality racingacross Antarctica o November 23rd.