Large crowds across southern Asia gazed at the sky in marvel on Thursday as a “ring of fire” solar eclipse unfolded.
In Indonesia's Riau province, people watched the phenomenon with modified binoculars and glasses as others prayed during the so-called annular eclipse.
The eclipse caused the sun to transform into a dark orb for more than two minutes, briefly plunging the sky into darkness.
It could be seen along a path stretching from India and Pakistan to Thailand and Indonesia.
The previous annular solar eclipse in February 2017 was also visible over a slice of Indonesia.
An annular eclipse occurs when the moon is farthest from Earth and does not block the entire view of the sun. Instead, the moon covers the sun's center, leaving the edges of the sun visible to form what looks like a "ring of fire" around the moon.
