Rare ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse will be visible in the sky tomorrow

The next one will be in 23 years

Nicknamed the 'ring of fire' because the sun's light shines around the dark shadow of the moon, the solar eclipse is set to take place tomorrow morning.

While eclipse's themselves are commonplace, with one expected in 2024, tomorrow's eclipse is so rare that experts believe we won't see another one until 2046.

NASA Research and Analysis Heliophysics Division Lead Patrick Koehn explained to ABC7: "A solar eclipse happens when the moon moves directly between the earth and the sun.

“With an annular eclipse, the moon is a little bit farther away than it ordinarily might be. So, it doesn't quite cover the entire disc of the sun and it leaves this ring shape."

The eclipse will be visible in the sky above North, Central, and South America, however NASA will also be sharing a live stream so you can check it out no matter where you are in the world.

The solar eclipse will begin at around 12:13pm ET (17:13 BST).

If you're lucky enough to see the eclipse with your own eyes, it's advised to gaze upon wearing special glasses or a pinhole camera.

Regular sunglasses do not provide enough protection to look at the eclipse and can result in eye damage.

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