Dazzling 'ring of fire' eclipse wows millions as weather cooperates

Did you see the "ring of fire" Thursday morning? For a few magical moments during Thursday's first hours, the moon tried its best to cover as much of the sun as it could, creating a halo of sunlight. In case you weren't up that early, check out the photos above.

The brilliant display coincided with Thursday's sunrise and, for residents in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada and even in cities such metropolitan areas like New York City, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, the eclipse was the perfect excuse to set an early alarm clock. And the weather was mostly cooperative, allowing the spectacle to be witnessed from the ground.

There were a few clouds in some of the skies, but there were just enough to add to the view rather than spoil it.

AccuWeather's astronomy expert Brian Lada explained that the "ring of fire" effect, more precisely known as an annular eclipse, was due to the moon being slightly farther from Earth than normal, meaning that it wouldn't be large enough to block out all of the sun.

The celestial alignment created dazzling images of the eclipse in towns and cities throughout the viewing regions.

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In the visible regions of the northeastern U.S., the weather cooperated on Thursday morning for viewing, with mostly clear skies and the lack of precipitation.

The special eclipse was also visible across northern Europe, Iceland, Greenland and northern Russia.

Many in Ireland were unable to get a sustained view of the eclipse, viewers lamented, due to the consistent cloud coverage, according to The Journal.

In the U.S., however, crowds erupted in excitement as the view of the eclipse grew stronger and stronger, particularly along Jersey Shore, New Jersey.

"That is fricking amazing," one amazed onlooker said.

For as exciting as Thursday morning's partial eclipse was for astronomy enthusiasts, true fanatics know that the bigger excitements lie ahead. Less than three years, Lada wrote, until our next total solar eclipse.

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