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Stargazers and astronomers alike have been treated to a spectacular celestial event - an annular solar eclipse.

The cosmic phenomenon was visible in parts of the US, Mexico and in South and Central America.

Cloud permitting, US residents were able to see at least a partial eclipse.

An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking out most but not quite all of the Sun's light.

It is called an annular eclipse because just a thin ring, or annulus, of light remains visible.

"An annular eclipse only happens when the moon is at its furthest away point from Earth. In perspective to us on Earth, it doesn't completely block out the light from the sun so instead you get this incredible ring of fire around the moon.

"Even though we get more excited about a total solar eclipse because you can see the Corona... it's really far more rare to see an annular solar eclipse and so it's a really cool thing to see" said Dr Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

The path of the October 14 annular solar eclipse spanned a wide area. Those within the path of annularity witnessed the full "ring of fire" effect, while those nearby regions would have expected to see a partial eclipse.

The annular solar eclipse began in Oregon at 09:13 local time (17:13 BST), passed through California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and reached Texas at 12:03 local time (18:03 BST). It was then visible across Central and northern South America.

Sky-gazers were urged to protect their eyes if looking at the sun and use solar viewing glasses, rather than regular sunglasses, to preserve their vision.

"Do NOT look at the Sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer - the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury," said Nasa.