'Ring of fire' solar eclipse: African stargazers treated to heavenly phenomena

Star gazers in parts of south and central Africa were treated to a wonderful sight of annular solar eclipse on Thursday with the moon moving across the sun to form a "ring of fire." Spectators had to wear special protective glasses to filter out the sun's harmful ultraviolet and infra-red rays. 

At the eclipse's peak, all that was visible was a ring of light encircling the black moon - the phenomenon was only fully visible to people in a narrow, 100km band stretching across central Africa and Madagascar. Anyone north, south, east or west of the band experienced only a partial eclipse, or none at all. 

The phenomenon, known as an annular solar eclipse, happens when there is a near-perfect alignment of the Earth, moon and sun. 

But unlike a total eclipse, when the Sun is blacked out, sometimes the moon is too far from earth, and its apparent diameter too small, for complete coverage. 

The next "total" solar eclipse will be coast-to-coast in the United States in August of 2017.