Do all total solar eclipses have the ring of fire when observed from ground?

Question

I was recording the phenomenon and then I soon realised that the ring of fire don't dissappear, is it because of the apparent size of the moon and sun as well as the relative distance so that every eclipses I see would alway have the ring of fire on it? Also I ruled out lensing because the moon is not massive enough right?

Answer 1

No, some solar eclipses are annular and some are total. The difference is in the Moon's distance at that moment in its eccentric orbit around the Earth. Hermit Eclipse has some illustrations which may be helpful.

In an annular eclipse, the Moon is farther than average and appears slightly smaller than the Sun. Some of the solar photosphere remains exposed, briefly appearing as a ring for observers on the central path. The phrase "ring of fire" applies to annular eclipses. The eclipses of 2019-12-26 and 2020-06-21 are annular.

In a total eclipse, the Moon is nearer than average and appears slightly larger than the Sun. Along the central path, the photosphere is completely obscured, briefly allowing observation of the solar corona. There may be a "diamond ring" effect before and after totality as a bit of photosphere shines past low regions on the lunar limb. The eclipses of 2019-07-02 and 2020-12-14 are total.

In the present few centuries, annular eclipses are slightly more frequent than total eclipses.

Answer 2

Yes, it's the relative size as seen from earth. With the sun blocked out by the moon we can see the corona - it is rather large but normally drowned out by the light from the photosphere.

As Carl suggested, you can easily look at photos of total eclipses - as long as the exposure is set correctly, you can always see the corona at totality.