Rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse on Sunday 11/3/13

Rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse May Be Visible from Eastern US Sunday

By Mike Wall, Senior Writer   |   October 30, 2013 07:00am ET

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Phillip Calais took this image of a plane flying during a partial solar eclipse in early May 2013 from Monument Hill in Fremantle, Australia. He took this photo using a Canon 40D with Canon 400 mm f5.6 lens and a 2x teleconverter. The photo was taken at 7:05 a.m. and the sun was only about 1.4 degrees above the horizon. Credit: Copyright Phillip Calais View full size image

The moon will blot out the sun Sunday (Nov. 3) in an eclipse that will be visible from eastern North America to the Middle East.
Sunday's celestial event is a relatively rare occurrence known as a hybrid solar eclipse. It will begin as an annular or "ring of fire" eclipse along the path of totality, then shift to a total eclipse as the moon's shadow sweeps across our planet.
What you'll observe depends on where you live. Skywatchers in the eastern United States, northeastern South America, southern Europe, the Middle East and most of Africa will be treated to a partial solar eclipse, while people along the path of totality in central Africa will see the sun totally obscured by Earth's nearest neighbor for a few dramatic moments.