Total solar eclipse, diamond ring effect. This effect is seen just before or after totality, when a tiny fragment of the solar disc flares out from behind the Moon for a few seconds, looking like a diamond on a ring. Here, the effect is seen at 'third contact' as the Moon starts moving away from the Sun. A few seconds earlier, as the Moon completely covered the Sun, the solar corona (a cloud of plasma that surrounds the Sun) was visible. The moment of totality lasts for only a few minutes. Total solar eclipses usually occur less than once a year, and can only be seen from a small area of the Earth's surface. This total solar eclipse took place on 2 July 2019, and was visible from parts of the southern Pacific Ocean and southern South America.