A partial solar eclipse was seen today over Harrow and this image was captured in our Rayleigh Observatory.

Opened in 2012 and used for education, outreach, astrophotography and research, the observatory enables boys and beaks to produce astounding images of the Moon, planets, nebulae and even immensely distant galaxies tens of millions of light years away.

Today's solar eclipse, or Ring of Fire, appeared differently across the world. Only people in Greenland, northern Canada and northern Russia saw an annual eclipse, with up to 89 per cent of the Sun obscured. In certain areas, a 'ring of fire' was visible for over three minutes.

Solar eclipses happen when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun - the three celestial objects are aligned so the Moon casts a shadow on Earth. If the Moon is at its closest point to Earth (called the perigee) it can block out almost all the Sun’s rays viewed from Earth, creating a total eclipse. However, if the Moon is aligned with the Sun when it’s near to its furthest point (called apogee) from the Earth, it won’t block out all light. Instead, it leaves a red ring or ‘annulus’ (Latin for ‘ring’) visible, creating what’s known as an annular eclipse.