See the 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse in Slooh Webcast Sunday!

Annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012
Skywatcher Joel Dykstra photographed the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012, in New Mexico. "Here are some eclipse pictures I took from my backyard in Roswell, NM with a Pentax K100 D digital SLR and some older manual telephoto lenses," he wrote. "I did not use any filters or special devices. These were taken between 6:45-7:30 p.m. mountain time." (Image credit: Joel Dykstra)

Update for Sunday, Feb. 26: The "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse amazed observers across South America and Africa. See our full story here: Moon Blocks (Most of) the Sun in 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse.  

A solar eclipse and its spectacular "ring of fire" will be visible from the Southern Hemisphere this Sunday morning (Feb. 26), but no matter what side of the equator you're on, you can watch the spectacular event unfold online in a live broadcast from Slooh's online observatory. 

You can watch the webcast live on the Slooh.com website Sunday beginning at 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT).

You can also watch the webcast here, courtesy of Slooh. [The 2017 'Ring of Fire' Annular Eclipse Path (Video)]

This type of eclipse is called an annular eclipse, meaning that the sun will remain visible as a bright ring around the moon. A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes in front of the sun. Sometimes, the moon is far enough away from Earth that it doesn't entirely cover the sun, so part of the sun's light shines around the moon. This eclipse will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere, covering parts of South America, the Atlantic Ocean and Africa. Slooh will present the eclipse in live feeds from Chile and other locations.

A map of the path of the Feb. 26, 2017, annular solar eclipse. The purple line shows the region where the "ring of fire" eclipse will be visible. A partial solar eclipse will be visible over a wider area. (Image credit: Map data ©2017 Google)

This NASA chart shows the path of the Feb. 26, 2017 annular solar eclipse, also known as a "ring of fire" eclipse. (Image credit: Fred Espenak/NASA)

"During the broadcast, Slooh host Gerard Monteux will guide viewers on this journey across multiple continents and thousands of miles," Slooh said in a statement. "He'll be joined by a number of guests who will help viewers explore not only the science of eclipses, but also the fascinating legend, myth, and spiritual and emotional expression associated with these most awe-inspiring celestial events."

The following guests will be on the show:

  • Slooh astronomer Paul Cox, who will speak from Slooh's flagship observatory at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands;
  • Helen Avery, Slooh's human spirit correspondent, who will discuss eclipse fear and celebration in cultures worldwide;
  • Michael "Burnie" Burns (founder of Rooster Teeth Productions), who will report on the annular eclipse from Chile;
  • Kate Russo, a psychologist and eclipse chaser, who will speak about the psychology of an eclipse; and
  • Astrophysicist Graham Jones, who educates local populations about eclipses when the events occur in different areas around the world.

Viewers can participate by tweeting @Slooh or by joining the live chat on Slooh's Facebook page.

Warning: Never look directly at the sun, even during an eclipse, without proper eye protection; serious and permanent vision damage can result.

Editor's note: If you safely take a photo of Sunday's "ring of fire" eclipse that you'd like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a possible story or image gallery, send images and comments to: spacephotos@space.com.

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace