‘Ring of Fire’ graces Shelter Island

Islanders who got up early (or didn’t go to bed last night) were treated to one of the most spectacular heavenly events seen here in a while.

Like other people in the Northern Hemisphere, early this morning the so-called “Ring of Fire” appeared to them when the moon obscured part of the sun from the Earth, according to Space.com.

It’s called an “annular eclipse” because, as the Old Farmer’s Almanac explains, it comes from “the Latin annulus, meaning ring-shaped. Call it a “penny-on-nickel effect” with the nickel representing the sun, and the penny, the moon.”

Ring, fire, penny, nickel, sun, moon, Earth — all combined for a remarkable start to a 2021 June morning.