A 'ring of fire' just appeared in the sky over Antarctica. Here's what happened during today's annular solar eclipse

A composite image showing the various stages of an annular solar eclipse. Three rows of 5 sun images are shown on a black background, with the middle row showing the climax of the eclipse. — Phases of an annular eclipse captured over Argentina in 2017. (Image credit: ALEJANDRO PAGNI/AFP via Getty Images)

A magnificent annular solar eclipse just swept over Antarctica, putting on an impressive display of orbital mechanics as the moon passed in front of the sun at the perfect distance from Earth to create a fiery halo in a darkened sky — at least for the few souls lucky enough to be in a position to see it.

Feb. 17's annular solar eclipse occurred as the lunar disk slipped between the sun and Earth during its new moon phase. The alignment occurred as the moon travelled through a distant point in its elliptical orbit, making it appear smaller than usual in Earth's sky.

Today's eclipse got underway at 4:56 a.m. EST (0956 GMT), as the moon took an ever greater bite out of the solar disk, transforming its burning orb into a glowing crescent, before finally diving entirely within its fiery expanse. The moon — appearing fractionally smaller than usual — was unable to cover the entirety of the sun's disk, leaving a thin sliver of its outer edge visible to surround Earth's natural satellite to create a ring in the skies over Antarctica.

This phase — known as annularity — lasted a little over two minutes and was visible across a remote, 383-mile-wide (616 kilometer) corridor of the Antarctic continent containing the Concordia research station, which hosts less than a hundred scientists and visitors at any one time.

A lesser partial eclipse was estimated to have been visible to roughly 176 million people — or 2% of the world's population — spread across the southern tip of South America and southern African nations including Madagascar, according to Time and Date. The eclipse came to a global end at 9:27 a.m. EST (1427 GMT), when the moon's silhouette exited the solar disk, returning it to its former glory.

LUNT 6x30 mini SUNoculars

LUNT 6x30 mini SUNoculars are a great affordable pair of sun-safe binoculars for casual solar viewers and those who want to be able to safely look at a solar eclipse. They are great for younger users too but make sure they have adult supervision. The CE-certified film lenses guarantee zero UV and IR exposure, so you can look at the sun in safety.

The next eclipse will be a spectacular "blood moon" total lunar eclipse, which will unfold early on March. 3, as our planet glides between the sun and its natural satellite, bathing its shadowed disk in the light of every sunrise and sunset on Earth. Over 2.5 billion people will be treated to a front-row seat to totality, including skywatchers in North America, who will witness the blood moon slip below the horizon as the sun rises.

You won't need any eye protection to gaze upon the moon but it's an absolute necessity if you're hoping to view the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12! Be sure to check out our guide to checking the safety of eclipse glasses, along with our top 10 tips for planning your 2026 solar eclipse trip.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your eclipse photography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Anthony Wood joined Space.com in April 2025 after contributing articles to outlets including IGN, New Atlas and Gizmodo. He has a passion for the night sky, science, Hideo Kojima, and human space exploration, and can’t wait for the day when astronauts once again set foot on the moon.

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