View full sizeThe partially eclipsed sun sets over downtown Mobile this evening. Note the lower right of the solar surface, which is blocked by the new moon, causing the unusual shape. (Press-Register/Mark R. Kent) MOBILE, Alabama -- Anyone out at sunset tonight in greater Mobile got a brief but clear look at a partial solar eclipse in progress.
The phenomenon, which caused a small part of the solar surface to appear "bitten off," was caused by the new moon passing in front of part of the sun.
It was all part of the same annular "ring of fire" sunset eclipse that was visible in a wide path from Lubbock, Texas to the Pacific coast at the California-Oregon state line this evening.
An even more spectaular eclipse will occur over the United States on Aug. 21, 2017, when a fully total eclipse darkens a path across the entire continental U.S., including Clarksville and Nashville, Tenn.