Annular solar eclipse seen across Canada captured in Belle River

Early morning risers in Belle River caught a glimpse of the sun being blocked out by the moon Thursday morning.

Some Canadians, particularly those living in the Northern Hemisphere, had anopportunity to see a partial view of an annularsolar eclipse.It began in Ontario, then swept across Greenland, the North Pole and finally Siberia, as the moon passed directly in front of the sun.

Two weeks ago, those living in Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipegwere able to catch sight of a lunar eclipse.

There are three main types of solar eclipses: total, partial and annular. During a total eclipse, the entire disk of the sun is covered by the moon. A partial eclipse is where the moon appears to swing through some of the sun.

An annular eclipse, however, is when the moon is a little farther away from Earth in its orbit and covers all but the outer edge of the sun, creating what some calla "ring of fire."

The annular part of the eclipse was visible in northern Ontario at sunrise, up through HudsonBay and into northern Quebec and the Arctic.

Additionaloptions were available for the early birds who did not have good visuals in their regions.The Virtual Telescope Projectfollowed the eclipse online. For those who wanted to take photographs, safety tips were made available atSky & Telescope.