Bhubaneswar: The skygazers will witness an annular solar eclipse, a rare celestial event often called the 'Ring of the Fire', on October 2 (Wednesday). 

According to timeanddate, the solar eclipse on October 2, 2024, is the final eclipse of the year. The annular or “ring of fire” eclipse will sweep one-third of the way around the world, from the North Pacific to the South Atlantic.

During the astronomical phenomenon, the Moon will appear smaller than the Sun, creating a 'ring of fire' effect for viewers. 

The eclipse will be visible for over 6 hours, starting at 9.13 PM IST (October 2) and ending at 3.17 AM IST (October 3).

The celestial event will be visible across parts of the Pacific Ocean, a remote stretch of southern Chile and Argentina. However, it will not be observable from India due to the timing of the eclipse.

The annular solar eclipse occurs on the New Moon when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun but is too far from Earth to completely cover the Sun's disk. As the October 2 eclipse coincides with a Micro New Moon, where the Moon is a bit farther from Earth than usual, only 87 percent of the Sun’s disk will be covered. 

For the event, the path of annularity will be roughly around 300 km (190 miles) wide. It will be seen nearly all overwater, except for the small Pacific island of Easter Island—also known as Rapa Nui—and the sparsely populated Aysén Region of Chile, and Santa Cruz Province of Argentina.