Watch: ‘Ring of fire’ eclipse shines over South America

A “ring of fire” solar eclipse was seen from Easter Island, Chile and Buenos, Argentina on 2 October.

Solar eclipses happen when the Moon casts a shadow on Earth and in a total eclipse, the whole disc of the Sun is blocked.

An annular solar eclipse differs because some of the Sun will still be visible as a spectacular ring with the centre blocked out by the Moon.

The reason for this ring – known as the “ring of fire” – is because the Moon happens to be at its furthest point from Earth, called the apogee, and therefore appears slightly smaller in the sky.