Stunning ‘Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse photos captured over NYC

The early bird catches the solar eclipse.

New Yorkers were pounding the pavement a little earlier than usual on Thursday morning as they took to the streets to spot the first solar eclipse of 2021 — a “ring of fire” eclipse that was like a blazing halo in the dawn sky. Also called an “annular” eclipse — from the Latin root “anulus” meaning “ring” — the phenomenon occurs when the moon passes directly between the Earth’s line of sight towards the Sun. As the moon’s orbit is currently at one of its furthest points away from Earth, its passing has caused what appears as a black void in the middle of our solar system’s star — rather than the more familiar total solar eclipse.