Diamond ring effect. View of the diamond ring effect seen during a partial phase of the total solar (Sun) eclipse which occurred on February 26th 1998. This effect may be seen for a few seconds just before or after the totality when all but a tiny fragment of the Sun's disc is hidden behind the Moon. The Moon is the dark sphere. The Sun's corona is visible as a thin bright ring; it is a region of low density with a temperature of about 1 million Kelvin. The Sun's corona is usually undetectable due to the overwhelming brightness of the inner region of the Sun's atmosphere known as the photosphere. Photographed from Aruba in the West Indies.