At a Glance

The eclipse will be visible from several areas across the Middle East to the Western Pacific, including Guam.The "ring of fire" effect happens because the moon is too far away to fully cover the sun.The event will happen while it's Christmas Day in North America.

Skywatchers in some parts of the world will be treated to a spectacular "ring of fire" eclipse on Thursday.

The eclipse won't be visible from the United States, but there are several YouTube channels that plan to show it live, including astronomy broadcaster . Because of time differences, the eclipse will happen while it's Christmas in North America. Slooh's livestream is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EST on Dec. 25.

In a solar eclipse, the moon crosses in front of the sun and can block it completely. A ring of fire eclipse, also known as an annular eclipse, occurs when the moon is , according to NASA. The result is a bright ring of sunlight that appears around the moon during the eclipse.

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The celestial event will be visible in several highly populated areas , including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines and Guam, according to space.com. Parts of Asia and Australia will see a partial eclipse.

This image from NASA shows the path of the 'ring of fire' eclipse on Dec. 26, 2019. The red dot shows where the ring of fire will be visible, and the shadow indicates where a partial eclipse can be seen.

Its average path will be 88 miles wide.

The show starts at 3:33 p.m. local time Thursday in Guam, with the ring of fire visible for three minutes , according to the Pacific Daily News. The sun will still be partially eclipsed when it sets at 6:01 p.m.

Anyone who's lucky enough to view the ring of fire eclipse in person should remember to . Because the sun won't be totally blocked during any part of the eclipse, it won't be safe to look at it with the naked eye.

The soonest a solar eclipse will be visible from North America , according to space.com. A total eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024.

Both will be widely visible across much of North America, although the best views will be in Texas.

This satellite image from Jan. 4, 2011, shows an annular, or "ring of fire," eclipse. Skywatchers in Guam, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, Sumatra and Borneo will be treated to a similar view on Dec. 26, 2019.

(NASA)

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