The sight of the moon covered the sun, creating something like a giant ring of fire as one of the impressive astronomical images appearing on newspapers this week.

Giant ring of fire in the sky images 1
The moon covered the sun in the partial solar eclipse on January 4. Japan's Hinode satellite captured this image from earth orbit. It was announced on January 14. (Photo: XRT)

Giant ring of fire in the sky images 2
Lagoon Nebula emits colorful rays in a composite photo taken by the US WISE spacecraft. With a width of about a hundred light-years, this is one of the few nebulae that humans can see from the earth. (Photo: NASA)

Giant ring of fire in the sky images 3
While searching for a black hole with the Spitzer space telescope, American scientists discovered a super-massive star exploded. Gas and dust are pushed out after the explosion and obscure the star's core. (Photo: AFP)

Giant ring of fire in the sky images 4
A mysterious green cloud wandering near the spiral galaxy IC 2497. With a length of up to 300 thousand light-years, it is detected by the Hubble space telescope. (Photo: AFP)

Giant ring of fire in the sky images 5
This is the most detailed ultraviolet photo of a galaxy that humans have ever had. The SWIFT satellite captured it in 2008. The galaxy in the picture is called Triangulum. It is nearly 3 million light years from the earth. (Photo: NASA)

Giant ring of fire in the sky images 6
Countless pits and cracks on Saturn's Hyperion satellite surface. The photo was taken by the American ship Cassini. (Photo: NASA)

Giant ring of fire in the sky images 7
Airflows and particles carry charges that spew out from the sun. The Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft captured this image. (Photo: NASA)