blacklogo_orangetext.gif (13932 bytes)     Annular eclipses

The distances between Earth and the Sun and Moon vary slightly, so their apparent sizes very a little too.
Sometimes an eclipse occurs that would be total except that the Moon looks too small to cover the whole Sun.
The result is an annular eclipse, where a bright ring of the Sun stays visible. Annular means ring-shaped. The
corona cannot be seen during an annular eclipse because even a thin ring of the Sun makes the sky too bright.

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