Little Black Spot on the Earth Today: Satellite Captures Eclipse Crossing Earth

A Japanese weather satellite captured a beautiful shot of last week's spectacular annular solar eclipse, as the natural wonder cast a shadow upon the Earth!

The MTSAT satellite managed to take the amazing photograph as the May 20th eclipse moved across the globe. Known as the "Ring of Fire" eclipse because of the visible fiery corona of the sun, the eclipse was witnessed across large parts of the United States as well as parts of Asia, including Japan and China.

The stunning photograph shows a relatively small but perfectly round black spot eerily making its way across the surface of the Earth. The annular eclipse is one of the rarest of solar occurrences. Millions of people in the path of the eclipse arranged special viewing parties to celebrate the incredible event.

Next up on the celestial event calendar: The even-rarer Transit of Venus, which will take place on June 5. 

Burning Ring of Fire: US Prepares for Annular Eclipse

Hundreds of thousands of people are planning on having parties to celebrate today's annular solar eclipse, which will be viewable across a large section of the United States.

Dubbed "The Ring of Fire" eclipse due to the fiery, visible corona, this will be the first solar eclipse viewable in the United States in eighteen years. The moon will begin slowly chipping away at the solar disk starting at approximately 8:00PM Eastern Time this afternoon.

The eclipse will be visible on a path starting in northwestern Texas through New Mexico, northeastern Arizona, southern Utah, Nevada, northern California and southwestern Oregon. Most observers will witness a partial solar eclipse, due to the moon's position between the Earth and sun. Skywatcher along a roughly 200-mile-wide track, however, will witness a spectacular "Ring of Fire," in which only a thin ring of the sun's disk remains uncovered.

As the sun continues along its orbit, the eclipse will then be visible over the North Pacific, including southern Japan and southern China on the morning of May 21.

Experts caution that you should never gaze directly at the sun without appropriate eye protection, even when the solar disk is almost completely blocked by the moon during an annular eclipse. You can safely look at the sun through specially designed eclipse-viewing glasses, or through welder's glass.