A solar eclipse swept across parts of United States, Africa and Europe, temporarily blocking the sun.
The eclipse was a “hybrid” eclipse, where some parts of the world saw an annular or partial eclipse, while others were expected to see a total eclipse where the moon appears to completely block out the sun.
An annular eclipse occurs when the moon’s orbit is at its furthest point from the Earth and closer to the much larger sun. That juxtaposition allows the moon to block more than 90 percent of the sun’s rays when the two orbs slide into alignment in space.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and the earth, blocking out the sun from the areas in the moon’s shadow. Without the sun’s light, the sky darkens enough for stars to be seen and the sun’s corona makes a spectacular halo around the moon.
