Rare 'Christmas' Solar Eclipse to Light Up Sky December 26

This will be the final eclipse of 2019, but North America will not see any part of it.

**Achtung! An eclipse can burn your retinas and blind you. Wear proper eye protection.**

FOX2 Detroit explains:

"An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon is relatively small in the sky and passes directly across the sun, but fails to cover it entirely. As a result, a “ring of fire” is formed that shines around the silhouette of the dark moon, according to Space.com.

The natural phenomenon will be visible across parts of the Middle East and Asia including, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, southern India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Guam.

The annular solar eclipse will last approximately for 3 minutes and 40 seconds and is the last eclipse of the year. It is dangerous to look at an annular solar eclipse with the naked eye, and protective eye wear is strongly encouraged.

The next annular solar eclipse that will be visible in the U.S. is set to occur on June 10, 2021."

Blind watchmaker, my &ss. It's by design. Space.com provides more particulars:

"Unlike July's eclipse of the sun, during which the path of totality swept mostly over the open ocean, this eclipse will be visible from many heavily populated areas. Its path averages 88 miles (142 km) wide in a swath stretching from the Middle East to the western Pacific Ocean.

Skywatchers will be able to see the annular eclipse from locations including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, India, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Singapore, Borneo, the Philippines, and even the tiny U.S. territory of Guam."

"The ring of sunlight will last the longest just east of the Indonesian island of Pulau Gin Besar, where the eclipse will glow for 3 minutes and 39.5 seconds.

Skywatchers in virtually all of Asia, northeastern Africa and the northern and western portions of Australia will be able to catch a partial eclipse. Local eclipse times for a number of cities in Asia are available online here courtesy of astronomer Fred Espenak. All times are local; the sun's altitude and azimuth, eclipse magnitude and eclipse obscuration are all given at the instant of maximum eclipse."

H/t: Breitbart