Ring of Fire Eclipse Passes Over Africa

AS IT IS 2016-09-02 Ring of Fire Eclipse¹ Passes Over Africa

People in parts of Africa witnessed a “ring of fire” in the sky Thursday, created by the moon passing between the Earth and the sun.

The solar event is called an annular² eclipse.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets in the way of the sun and blocks its light. An annular eclipse happens when the moon does not completely block the sun, leaving a ring of sunlight around the moon.

For those who saw it, Thursday’s “ring of fire” eclipse appeared as red rings of sunlight shining around the moon’s dark shape.

Thursday’s eclipse began shortly after 06:00 UTC. It ended at about 12:00 UTC.

C. Alex Young is a solar astrophysicist with the American space agency NASA. He told the New York Times that much of the sun was blocked out. People who saw the eclipse saw circular shadows, he said. He called the shadows “kind of eerie³.”

The event was the second solar eclipse of 2016. The first was a total eclipse, and took place in March. It was visible to people in Indonesia and other places in the Pacific.

Another annular solar eclipse will occur in February 2017. Next August, a total solar eclipse will be visible in the United States.

Words in This Story

occur – v. to happen

astrophysicist – n. the scientific study of physical and chemical properties and structures of stars, planets and other objects in outer space

visible – adj. able to be seen

eerie – adj. strange and mysterious

1 eclipse   

v.使黯然失色，使相形见绌，日食，月食

参考例句：

• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。
• There will be an eclipse of the moon next month.下个月有月食。

2 annular   

adj.环状的

参考例句：

• It was reported that there would be an annular eclipse tomorrow.据报道说，明天有日环食。
• The annular markings on a tree indicate its age.树的环形纹理显示其年龄。

3 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。