Solar eclipse 2012: May 20th’s ‘ring of fire’ and a history of gorgeous eclipses

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The first partial solar eclipse of 2011 is seen from Rennes, France, on Jan. 4.

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A thundershower rolls through as an annular solar eclipse appears in Gardnerville, Nevada on May 20, 2012.

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The solar eclipse is seen between seats on a ferris wheel in Tokyo, Japan.

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The sun sets behind a barn and windmill on Sunday, May 20, 2012, southwest of Ellis, Kansas, during a partial solar eclipse. The annular eclipse, in which the moon passes in front of the sun leaving only a golden ring around its edges, was visible in China, Japan and elsewhere in the region before reaching excited viewers in Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas.

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The annular eclipse is visible through binoculars in Sacramento, Calif.

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Stargazers in the U.S. should get ready for a show: the nation will experience it's first solar eclipse in nearly two decades on May 20. The annular eclipse -- when the moon passes directly in front of the sun but does not completely block it out -- will be visible in China and Japan, as well as across the western United States, according to NASA. Check out other gorgeous solar eclipses ... Here, the moon begins to travel a path across the sun during a partial eclipse visible from Bangkok, Thailand in 2010. The additional shadow is a reflection from the photographer's lens.

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An annular solar eclipse is seen formed over the sky of Male, Maldives on January 15, 2010.

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The Annular Solar Eclipse occurs on January 15, 2010 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. The eclipse, which first became visible in Tamil Nadu city of Kanyakumari, is predicted to be the longest of its kind for the next 1,000 years.

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An annular solar eclipse is partially seen at sunrise on Monday, May 21, 2012, from the coastal township of Gumaca in the Philippines, 116 miles southeast of Manila.

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An annular eclipse appears May 20, 2012, north of Odessa, Texas.

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Hikers watch an annular eclipse from Papago Park in Phoenix, Ariz.

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A view of a partial solar eclipse as seen from Gaza City in January 2011.

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The total solar eclipse is observed above the mountainous Siberian Altai region, about 1,850 miles east of Moscow in 2008.

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The partial solar eclipse is seen from the coastal township of Gumaca, Quezon province in the Philippines.

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The sun sets behind a field on Sunday, May 20, 2012, southwest of Ellis, Kansas during a partial solar eclipse.

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An unidentified employee of the Stefanik Observatory in Prague uses a projection shield to show the partial solar eclipse visible in the Czech capital during the morning on in January 2011.

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The annular solar eclipse appears in Fujisawa, near Tokyo on Monday, May 21, 2012.