Spectacular solar eclipses

The view of a partial solar eclipse in the sky on January 4, 2011 in the town of Givatayim, Israel. Over parts of Europe it could be seen as much as two-thirds of the sun slipped from view behind the moon. An event like this hasn't occurred in the area since August 1999, and the next eclipse won't be until March 2015. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

A man watches a partial solar eclipse through a filter in Galyateto, some 100 km (62 miles) east of Budapest, January 4, 2011. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Two men sit on a bridge to watch an annular solar eclipse in Zhengzhou, Henan province, January 15, 2010. The longest, ring-like solar eclipse of the millennium started on Friday, with astronomers saying the Maldives was the best place to view the phenomenon that will not happen again for over 1,000 years. REUTERS/Donald Chan

A total solar eclipse is seen on March 29, 2006 above Athens, Greece. In an annular or total eclipse, the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth and completely blocking the sun. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/ Getty Images)

An unidentified employee of the Stefanik Observatory in Prague uses a projection shield to show the partial solar eclipse visible in the Czech capital during the morning on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. The partial eclipse started over the Czech Republic at about 08:00 CET and will last until 10:50. In the culminating phase, up to 80 percent of the solar disc was obscured by the silhouette of the moon passing between it and the earth. (AP Photo/CTK, Michal Kamaryt)

The solar eclipse is seen over the Tamsui River, northern Taiwan, January 15, 2010. The annular eclipse of the sun, which will last for over 11 minutes during its maximum duration, will be visible from a 300-km wide track that passes half of the earth, according to NASA. REUTERS/Stringer

An aircraft flies past a solar eclipse in Bangkok January 15, 2010. The annular eclipse of the sun, which will last for over 11 minutes during its maximum duration, will be visible from a 300-km wide track that passes half of the earth, according to NASA. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

The moon begins to obstruct the view of the sun from earth during a soloar eclipse at the Tian'anmen Square on January 15, 2010 in Shenyang, Liaoning Province of China. The eclipse, which first became visible in Tamil Nadu city of Kanyakumari, is predicted to be the longest of its kind for the next 1000 years. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

This image taken by the Hinode satellite shows the annular solar eclipse at its maximum on May 20, 2012.

See more photos of the solar eclipse on Flickr

This image, taken by the sun-watching Hinode satellite, was taken two minutes after the start of the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012.

The European Space Agency's Proba-2 space weather satellite observed the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012. The event was used to assess the intensity of stormy "active regions" across the sun's face and to check the performance of Proba-2'

The first solar eclipse of 2013 occurs at the Moon's descending node in eastern Ares. An annular eclipse will be visible from Australia, eastern Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Gilbert Islands.

In this handout image provided by National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and transmitted with the help of NICT and JAXA, the solar eclipse is seen on July 22, 2009 in Iwojima Island, Tokyo, Japan. The longest total eclipse of the sun of this century triggered tourist fever in Asia as astronomy enthusiasts from home and abroad flocked to watch the event The eclipse was visible from within a narrow corridor that begins in India and crosses through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. (Photo by National Astronomical Observatory of Japan via Getty Images)