'Ring of fire' solar eclipse thrills skywatchers in Africa, Asia

The moon partially covers the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen from Kurukshetra. | Skywatchers along a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and the Far East witnessed Sunday a dramatic "ring of fire" solar eclipse.

The moon passes between the sun and the earth during a partial solar eclipse as seen in Beijing. | So-called annular eclipses occur when the Moon - passing between Earth and the Sun - is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.

The partial solar eclipse is captured using infra red filter in the cloudy sky in Nairobi, Kenya. | They happen every year or two, and can only been seen from a narrow pathway across the planet.

The moon moves in front of the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen through clouds from New Delhi. | Sunday's eclipse arrived on the northern hemisphere's longest day of the year - the summer solstice - when Earth's north pole is tilted most directly towards the Sun.

The moon partially covers the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen from New Delhi. | Arcing eastward across Africa and Asia, it reached "maximum eclipse" - with a perfect solar halo around the Moon - over Uttarakhand, India near the Sino-Indian border at 12:10 local time (0640 GMT).

An eclipse seen from Yunlin county, center Taiwan. | More spectacular, but less long-lived: the exact alignment of the Earth, Moon and Sun was visible for only 38 seconds.

A crow stands on a roof as a partial solar eclipse is observed in Nairobi, Kenya. | In Nairobi, east Africa, observers saw only a partial eclipse as clouds blocked the sky for several seconds at the exact moment the Moon should have almost hidden the Sun.

The moon moves in front of the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen from Islamabad.

The moon moves in front of the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen through clouds from New Delhi.

The moon moves in front of the sun during an annular solar eclipse in Banda Aceh.