People along a swath of southern Asia gazed at the sky in marvel on Thursday at a 鈥渞ing of fire鈥� solar eclipse.

The so-called annular eclipse, in which a thin outer ring of the sun is still visible, could be seen along a path stretching from India and Pakistan to Thailand and Indonesia.

Authorities in Indonesia provided telescopes and hundreds of special glasses to protect viewers鈥� eyes. Thousands of people gazed at the sky and cheered and clapped as the sun transformed into a dark orb for more than two minutes, briefly plunging the sky into darkness. Hundreds of others prayed at nearby mosques.

鈥淗ow amazing to see the ring of fire when the sun disappeared slowly,鈥� said Firman Syahrizal, a resident of Sinabang in Indonesia鈥檚 Banda Aceh province who witnessed the eclipse with his family.

The previous annular solar eclipse in February 2017 was also visible over a slice of Indonesia.

The Associated Press

Like us on and follow us on .