Science News Roundup: Annular solar eclipse transfixes crowds across the Americas; NASA launches spacecraft to explore metal-rich asteroid Psyche and more

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Annular solar eclipse transfixes crowds across the Americas Thousands of people across the Americas gazed at the heavens on Saturday to witness a rare phenomenon known as an annular solar eclipse, when the moon passes in front of the sun, momentarily producing the appearance of a "ring of fire" in the sky.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Annular solar eclipse transfixes crowds across the Americas

Thousands of people across the Americas gazed at the heavens on Saturday to witness a rare phenomenon known as an annular solar eclipse, when the moon passes in front of the sun, momentarily producing the appearance of a "ring of fire" in the sky. "It's one of those things you can't miss," said Oscar Lopez, 26, who travelled from Mexico City to the southern Mexican city of Campeche to see the eclipse. "It's amazing. We're really lucky as human beings to be able to experience these things."

NASA launches spacecraft to explore metal-rich asteroid Psyche

NASA on Friday launched a spacecraft from Florida on its way to Psyche, the largest of the several metal-rich asteroids known in our solar system and believed by scientists to be the remnant core of an ancient protoplanet, offering clues about Earth's formation. The Psyche probe, folded inside the cargo bay of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, blasted off under partly cloudy skies from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on a planned journey 2.2 billion miles (3.5 billion km) through space. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a small van, is due to reach the asteroid in August 2029.

Explainer-What to know about Saturday's 'ring of fire' solar eclipse

Millions of people in the Americas will be in a position to witness an astronomical treat on Saturday with a solar eclipse in which - weather permitting - the moon will be seen passing in front of the sun. The eclipse is due to be visible along a path covering parts of the United States, Mexico and several countries in Central America and South America.

(With inputs from agencies.)