Animation shows the Moon casting a shadow over Earth

Last week, an eerie ‘ring of fire’ rose over the Southern Hemisphere as the moon passed in front of the sun in an annular solar eclipse.

Stunning footage from space now reveals the phenomenon cast a shadow over 
Earth’s surface.

Images from NASA’s Moderate Resolution show the massive shadow as the moon blocked sunlight over the Atlantic Ocean, creating what appears like a large ink-blotch just off the coast of South America. 

The annular eclipse was visible from the southern tip of South America all the way to 
southern Africa.

In one of these events, the moon passes between the sun and Earth, blocking the light – but, at this distance, it doesn’t obscure it completely.

This creates the appearance of a ‘ring of fire.’

An animation from NASA’s DSCOVR Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera shows what this phenomenon looked like from space.

While most of Earth appears normal, the waters between South America and Africa are marred by a large shadow.

Different views from the satellites show the shadow’s movement across the area.

Stunning pictures from Brazil and Chile show the moon coming between the Earth and the sun to create the spectacular ‘ring of fire.’

More than half a billion people across the world had the opportunity to see the annular eclipse, which first passed through, Chile and Argentina before moving across the South Atlantic Ocean to Africa.
The moment of greatest eclipse occurred midway between the two continents at just before 10am ET (3pm GMT) when the moon covered more than 99 per cent of the sun.

It ended just after 5:30 p.m. GMT on Sunday in southern Africa - between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Later this year, the moon will completely block out the sun, in a total solar eclipse.

This will take place on August 21, 2017, and will cross the United States from Oregon to South Carolina.