Images captured by the GOES-East Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument were used to create a GeoColor imagery animation of an annular solar eclipse that took place on October 2, 2024. Only Easter Island and a small area near the southern tip of Chile and Argentina were able to view the "ring of fire" during the eclipse.
Press the blue "Play" button in the lower left corner of the image to see the passage of the eclipse from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., ET (19:30 to 20:30 UTC/Zulu Time). Click on the icon in the upper right corner to open this image in NASA Worldview (where you can export the animation as an animated GIF).
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth while it is at its farthest point from Earth. Since the Moon is physically farther away from Earth at this time, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the Sun during the eclipse, thus creating a "ring of fire" in the sky. The darkened portions of the GeoColor reflectance imagery occur when the satellite no longer receives reflected sunlight from Earth's surface.
Mark your calendars now—the next total solar eclipse takes place August 12, 2026, and will pass over Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, and a small area of Portugal (a partial eclipse will be visible in Europe, Africa, North America, and over the Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean).
Visit Worldview to visualize near real-time imagery from NASA's EOSDIS; find more imagery in our Worldview weekly image archive.
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