( CNN ) -- The shadow of the moon swept across the globe from Hong Kong to the Texas Panhandle as a rare annular solar eclipse began Monday morning in Asia and traversed the Pacific . The sun appeared as a thin ring behind the moon to people in a narrow path along the center of the track , which began in southern China . Heavy clouds obscured the view in Hong Kong , but residents of Tokyo and other cities were able to get a spectacular view for about four minutes around 7:32 a.m. Monday ( 6:32 p.m . ET Sunday ) . Events were held at schools and museums in Japan , while many more people took in the unusual astronomical event at home or on street corners . After whizzing across the Pacific , the shadow emerged over northern California and southern Oregon , where thousands of people attended parties to watch the event , the first to appear in the United States since 1994 . Experts warned that hopeful viewers should not peer up at the sky without special viewing equipment , since looking at the sun with the naked eye can cause blindness . Derek Ralston , a professional photographer , said he used a welding filter to capture a direct view of eclipse in the foothills above Oroville , California . He shared the photo on CNN iReport . Noting `` the rather slim swath of the globe who could see the impact of the eclipse , '' Ralston said he wanted to enable `` the rest of the world to see how clear it looked to those of us who were fortunate enough to see it . '' The sliver of sunshine then traveled southeast across central Nevada , southern Utah and northern Arizona , and then New Mexico . It passed over Albuquerque , New Mexico , about 7:34 p.m. ( 9:34 p.m . ET ) before petering out east of Lubbock , Texas , according to NASA . An annular eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and sun at the farthest point of its orbit , meaning it will block less than the entire sun . That leaves a large , bright ring around it as it passes . Patrick Wiggins , a NASA ambassador in Salt Lake City , said he always looked forward to seeing people 's reactions to such events . `` You get everything from stoic , staring into the sky ... to people breaking down and crying , they 're just so moved , '' he said . Aaron Lin , an 8th-grade student from Moraga , California , said a tree in his family 's yard had served as unexpected natural viewing device on Sunday . The leaves of the tree , whose shadow falls on the side of the family 's house , broke up the light from the eclipse into scores of tiny crescents on the wall , he said . `` I was so shocked by these shadows because it looked like a painting or computer art , '' said Aaron , 13 . Did you view the eclipse ? Share your photos with CNN iReport and they could be featured on CNN . The next solar eclipse will be on November 13 , and is expected to be visible over northern Australia , according to NASA . CNN 's Yoko Wakatsuki , Tyson Wheatley and Melissa Gray contributed to this report .
Northern California gets a clear view of the ring of fire . California ##ns enjoy spectacular scenes , but clouds block Hong Kong sunshine . More than 80 % of the sun was blocked during the fire .