Annular eclipses occur when the Moon, passing between Earth and the Sun, is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.
They happen every year or two, and can only be seen from a narrow pathway across the planet.
Remarkably, the eclipse arrived on the northern hemisphere's longest day of the year - the summer solstice - when Earth's North Pole is tilted most directly towards the Sun.
The annular eclipse is visible from only about 2 percent of Earth's surface.
