East Asia all set for ‘ring of fire' eclipse

Tokyo: People in parts of East Asia and the western United States are awaiting a rare "ring of fire" eclipse.

Early risers in southern China, northern Taiwan and southeastern Japan will get the best view, weather permitting, around dawn today. The eclipse will then move across the Pacific, with the western US viewing the tail end.

The event, called an annular solar eclipse, occurs when the moon slides across the sun, blocking all but a blazing halo of light.

In Japan, cable cars will begin running early to give tourists an unobstructed view from the mountains, and ocean ferries will make special trips to allow viewing from offshore.

Children will gather early at schools to view the eclipse with teachers. Stores are promoting special eclipse-viewing eyewear as well as ring-shaped goods of all sorts — from wedding rings to doughnuts.

In Tokyo, where a ring eclipse was last seen in 1839, the event dominated yesterday's TV talk shows, with hosts providing viewing tips. In Taiwan, the Taipei Astronomical Museum will open its doors at dawn, while Hong Kong's Space Museum will set up solar-filtered telescopes outside its building on the Kowloon waterfront.

The eclipse will follow a narrow 13,700-km path for three and half hours. The ring phenomenon will last about five minutes, depending on location.

An annular solar eclipse is not as dramatic as a total eclipse, when the disk of the sun is entirely blocked by the moon. As in a total solar eclipse, the moon crosses in front of the sun, but the moon is too far from Earth and appears too small in the sky to blot out the sun completely.