Annular Solar Eclipse 2013: Stunning Pictures of 'Ring of Fire' from Australia [PHOTOS]

Sky gazers in northern Australia and the South Pacific witnessed a remarkable annular solar eclipse on Friday 10 May. In an annular solar eclipse, the moon does not completely block the sun but leaves a fiery ring around its edges. The eclipse lasted between three and six minutes, depending where it was viewed from.

"For the three of us here this was our first solar eclipse, we have done many lunar eclipses, but this was just spectacular!" Michael Johnson of Columbus State University's Coca-Cola Space Science Center told Space.com, "During the maximum eclipse it was hard not to just stare at the sun."

Eclipse expert Jay Pasachoff travelled from Williams College in Massachusetts to Australia to view his 57th solar eclipse. He drove to a remote hill in the Outback about 30 miles north of the Northern Territory town of Tennant Creek.

"We can report good success in observing 4 minutes and 20 seconds of full annularity at the eclipse today," he said, "Much of the eclipse was viewed through thin clouds, though rarely after the first few minutes was the sun obscured."

The last partial lunar eclipse took place on 25 April. This year will witness a total of five eclipses - three lunar and two solar eclipses. The pictures of the solar eclipse were also shared on social networking sites by astronomers.

Scroll down to see the stunning pictures of the annular solar eclipse...