The arrival of the 2020 Summer Solsticecoincided with a rare type of annular solar eclipse on Sunday.
The Moon’s distance from the Earth meant that it did not completely block out the Sun, creating what some astronomers refer to as a “ring of fire”.
The path of totality – when the Earth, Moon and Sun are perfectly aligned – passed from west to east over 12 countries on 21 June.
A partial eclipse was also visible at various times in dozens of other countries, though poor weather across South East Asia made viewing difficult.
A live stream of the eclipse was broadcast as it passed directly over Africa, the Middle East and Asia (skip to around two hours in to see the full annularity over India).
You can also read The Independent's live coverage of the 2020 solar eclipse.
As the Sun rises on the longest day of the year, billions of people around the world will be witness to a spectacular "annular" solar eclipse, whereby a perfect "ring of fire" forms around the Moon as it passes in front of the Sun.
These two events will not coincide again until 2039, while the path of totality also presents a rare opportunity for people across 12 countries and two continents to watch it. (Dozens more countries will see a partial eclipse.)
We'll have all the latest weather reports for the locations the eclipse passes over, as well as updates of its progress around the world.
Nasa has helpfully created a map showing the path of totality for today's eclipse.
That shows where the total eclipse will occur, but a partial eclipse will also be visible as far north as Europe and as far south as Australia – just.
We'll have a live stream available in a couple of hours when the total eclipse passes over Oman, allowing anyone to watch it no matter where they are in the world.
We're less than an hour away from when people will be able to see the eclipse for the first time.
It will begin over central Africa before making its way east across the Middle East and Asia. Here's a handy list of useful times compiled by Timeanddate.
The same people have also put together this map to show just how far north and south it will be possible to see the partial eclipse.
Any amateur astronomers or photographers out there might be interested in this article explaining how to safely see and photograph today's eclipse.
Let's not forget, today is also the longest day of the year.
Celebrations for the 2020 Summer Solstice have been somewhat muted due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning Stone Henge is a lot more quiet than usual this year.
English Heritage cancelled celebrations and urged people to stay away.
But that didn't stop everyone, as this picture shows.
Fortunately, English Heritage has made it possible to watch the sunrise at Stone Henge via a live stream.
Sun rise takes place in about 5 minutes at 04.52 BST.
Happy Summer Solstice!
As the sun rises, the eclipse is beginning to make itself visible over central Africa. There are a lot of great gifs showing the path it will take: here's one animation created by Nasa 20 years ago to demonstrate what will happen today.
Here's a more recent one, showing more detail.
The full eclipse will be visible for the first time in about 25 minutes over central Africa. The weather is currently expected to be "mostly cloudy" over the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to forecasts.
There might not be much to see when the total eclipse first appears, but it looks like it clears up along the path heading north east from central Africa.
Here's the latest satellite imagery, courtesy of Accuweather.
This is what the "ring of fire" effect created by the annular solar eclipse will look like.
The path of totality takes the solar eclipse directly over India and China, allowing potentially billions of people to see it firsthand.
The weather is looking fairly clear in the north of India currently, hopefully that doesn't change by the time it passes over.
Here are the best times to see it.
The eclipse is currently passing over Ethiopia and there's some great views of it being shared on social media.
Other views have been slightly obscured by the clouds.
It might seem like common sense to most people, but just in case you need reminding: Do not look directly at the sun.
In Ethiopia, US-based organisation Astronomers Without Borders has been handing out eclipse viewing glasses to people for free, allowing them to safely watch the event without damaging their eyes.
“Living in such uncertain times, we hope that by sharing across space and time the experience of witnessing the natural beauty of a solar eclipse we can help transcend borders, and bring a sense of peace and togetherness, which is so needed these days,” said Zoe Chee, interim executive director of Astronomers Without Borders.
“Thanks to the generosity of so many across the United States, we are excited to be able to offer access to this amazing celestial phenomenon to those who otherwise would have missed out.”
This kid is showing Trump how it's meant to be done.
As the total eclipse moves towards the Middle East, the early stages can now be seen in India.
Please wait a moment for the live blog to load
