An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun. Hence the Sun appears as a very bright ring surrounding the outline of the Moon. Next Annular eclipse is expected to be visible in Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram island, Tamil Nadu, India on January 15, 2010.



Photography

Photographing an eclipse is possible with fairly common camera equipment. In order for the disk of the sun/moon to be easily visible, a fairly high magnification telephoto lens is needed (70-200 mm for a 35 mm camera), and for the disk to fill most of the frame, a longer lens is needed (over 500 mm). As with viewing the sun directly, looking at it through the viewfinder of a camera can produce damage to the retina, so care is advised.

The safest way to view the Sun's disk is by indirect projection. This can be done by projecting an image of the disk onto a
white piece of paper or card using a pair of binoculars (with one of the lenses covered), a telescope, or another piece of
cardboard with a small hole in it (about 1 mm diameter), often called a pinhole camera.

Sunglasses do not make viewing the sun safe. Only properly designed and certified solar filters should ever be used for direct viewing of the Sun's disk.

Total eclipse