Thousands of people are planning viewing parties in the western United States for Sunday’s annular solar eclipse, a rare event in which the sun will appear as a thin ring behind the moon.
The eclipse will be visible on a path from northwestern Texas through New Mexico, northeastern Arizona, southern Utah, Nevada, northern California and southwestern Oregon late in the day on May 20.
As the sun continues its path, the eclipse will then be visible over the North Pacific, in southern Japan and southern China on the morning of May 21.