An annular eclipse of the Sun occurs on May 20, 2012.  The path over western United States where  partial eclipse will be visible, is mapped (picture, right), thanks to eclipse-maps.com.  “An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun, causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring), blocking most of the Sun’s light. An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region thousands of kilometers wide,”  according to Wikepedia. Yes, there’s a dedicated page to May 20th eclipse at Wikipedia and eclipse-maps.com, at the latter website there’s also an excellent history of solar eclipse maps.  Where’s the best place to be for viewing? The large swath (brown area in picture) from Medford, OR to Lubbock TX.   The fun starts at 5:08 PT Sunday in Oregon and concludes in Texas at sunset.  The United States will experience partial eclipse in most areas except for the East Coast. An annular eclipse is called a “ring of fire” (picture, left) – don’t miss it!