In pictures: 'Ring of fire' solar eclipse wows across Asia

An annular solar eclipse is observed with the use of a solar filter, in Siak, Riau province, Indonesia. Annular eclipses occur when the Moon is not close enough to the Earth to completely obscure the Sun, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.

People gather to watch the annular solar eclipse in Cheruvathur town in the southern state of Kerala, India. Depending on weather conditions, this year's astronomical phenomenon was set to be visible from the Middle East across southern India and Southeast Asia before ending over the northern Pacific.

A view of the sun in Kuwait City during the partial solar eclipse event. While these types of eclipses occur every year or two, they are only visible from a narrow band of Earth each time and it can be decades before the same pattern is repeated.

The moon begins to cover the sun during a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse, while a eagle flies past, at Badshahi mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. The next annual eclipse in June 2020 will be visible to a narrow band from Africa to northern Asia. The following one in June 2021 will only be seen in the Arctic and parts of Canada, Greenland and the remote Russian far east.

The moon passes between the sun and the earth during an annular solar eclipse in Madinat Zayed in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Outside the narrow band where the "Ring of fire" effect can be observed, skywatchers would see a partial solar eclipse.

Students of Karachi University watch the solar eclipse from Karachi, Pakistan.

Seagulls flying above a beach in Kuwait City during the partial solar eclipse event.

People at Al Thuraya Atronomy Centre in Dubai to witness solar eclipse on 26th December 2019.

A view of the sun in the central Iraqi holy shrine city of Najaf in Iraq during the partial solar eclipse event.

Last solar eclipse of 2019, viewed from Liwa, Abu Dhabi.

A woman wearing special protective glasses prays as she monitors the annular solar eclipse on Jabal Arba (Four Mountains) in Hofuf, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

The moon begins to cover the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen behind Christmas decorations in Bangkok.

Solar eclipse as seen from Al Thuraya Atronomy Centre in Dubai

The moon totally covers the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from the south Indian city of Dindigul in Tamil Nadu state.

The moon begins to cover the sun during a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse, as a star on top of a Christmas tree is seen in the foreground, in Bangkok.

A women vendor watches a partial solar eclipse in Hyderabad, India.

A commercial flight flies during the solar eclipse in Bangkok, Thailand.

Women sit near their children, buried up to their necks in sand, during a solar eclipse, along Clifton beach in Karachi, Pakistan. Many Pakistanis believe that burying people with disabilities in sand during solar eclipse would bring healing to their bodies.

In this image made from live video from Slooh robotic telescope service, shows a near full solar eclipse at the International Astronomical Center, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

People look up at the sun with protective glasses to watch a solar eclipse from Jakarta, Indonesia.

Solar eclipse is seen during the early hours on Jabal Arba (Four Mountains) in Hofuf, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

The moon starts to move in front of the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse, as seen from Wan Twin in central Myanmar.

Annular solar eclipse' seen over the sky of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India.

The moon moves in front of the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse in Fuyang in China's eastern Anhui province.

School children view the the partial solar eclipse through safe films, at Goregaon in Mumbai, India.

Monks wearing solar filter glasses watch a "ring of fire" solar eclipse at the Gaden monastery in a Tibetan colony in Teginkoppa, 50km south of Dharwad in India's southern Karnataka state.

The moon covers the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Birds fly past a partial solar eclipse in Hyderabad, India.

A partial solar eclipse occurs over the skies of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A girl uses a telescope to watch the moon covering the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from the south Indian city of Dindigul in Tamil Nadu state.

A partial solar eclipse is seen in Quezon city, metropolitan Manila, Philippines.

A man uses a solar filter to watch as the moon moves in front of the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse in Singapore.

The moon covers the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from Colombo.

Annular solar eclipse occurs over the skies of Cheruvathur town in the southern state of Kerala, India.