In an annular eclipse, the moon is directly in front of the sun but is too far from Earth to block the sun completely. In an annular eclipse, a thin ring of sunlight shines around the moon's edge.

At least two solar eclipses happen each year somewhere on the Earth, but there can be as many as five in a year. A total solar eclipse happens about once every 18 months. But the path of an eclipse may be way out at sea, or over cold polar regions, or in other places where few people can see the phenomenon.