//:: A Ring of Fire: Solar Eclipse

Only a few lucky people in the Indian Ocean will be treated to a rare event on Monday when an annular solar eclipse will turns the largest ball of fire called the Sun into a dark disc with a blazing ring-shaped corona around its rim.According to a chap called Fred Espenak, a veteran NASA eclipse-watcher. The total eclipse track will run from west to east on Monday from 0606 GMT to 0952 GMT.

It will traverse the Indian Ocean and western Indonesia before petering out just short of Mindanao, the Philippines.

How unlucky could we get? It's been years since I last witnessed this extraordinary event. I was like 10 back then...

The partial eclipse will be seen in a much wider swathe, including the southern third of Africa, Madagascar, Australia, Southeast India, Southeast Asia and Indonesia.

"So.... are you a Photo Journalist? Yeah right! I think I know where this is going now!"

It will be the only annular solar eclipse this year. The last was on 7 February, 2007, and after Monday, the next one will be on 15 January, 2010.

The big event for eclipse junkies this year is on July 22, when a total solar eclipse will be visible from India and China, the world's two most populous countries.

Solar Eclipse, Mindanao, Science, Extraordinary Event, Stars, Universe // TAGS