Saturday’s rare ‘ring of fire’ event

On Saturday, millions of Americans will be in the path of a rare “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse, visible over multiple states in the U.S.

NASA is streaming the solar eclipse, with live coverage beginning Saturday. The livestream will feature conversations with scientists and telescope views from across the country. You can watch the livestream at the video at the top of this page or on NASA’s YouTube channel.

According to NASA, a solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth while it as its farthest point from the Earth. The moon is farther away from than usual for this eclipse, appearing smaller than the sun and not completely covering it, creating the “ring of fire” effect.