A solar eclipse delighted astronomy fans on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, drawing sky watchers outside to watch the moon pass before the sun to make a so-called “ring of fire.”
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Some 3,000 people gathered on the southwestern side of the French-governed island to see the “annular solar eclipse” – the moment when the moon blots out most of the sun to create the appearance of a bright ring around its edges.
Wearing protective glasses, residents and tourists watched and took pictures of the astronomical phenomenon for several hours.
“I (once) saw a solar eclipse…but I have never seen an annular solar eclipse before,” Austrian tourist Beate Sosz said. “It is great.”