BATON ROUGE - A rare “ring of fire” eclipse of the sun cuts across the Americas on Saturday, stretching from Oregon to Brazil, and huge crowds were on the move before dawn in cities, rural areas and national parks to try to catch a glimpse of it.

For the small towns and cities along its narrow path, there was a mix of excitement, worries about the weather and concerns they’d be overwhelmed by visitors flocking to see the celestial event, also called an annular solar eclipse. Clouds and fog threatened to obscure the view of the eclipse in some western states, including California and Oregon.

Unlike a total solar eclipse, the moon doesn’t completely cover the sun during a ring of fire eclipse. When the moon lines up between Earth and the sun, it leaves a bright, blazing border.

In the WBRZ viewing area, the eclipse will reach its peak around 12:05 p.m. before ending at 1:43 p.m.

You can watch the eclipse safely online via this live NASA feed (begins at 10:30 a.m. Central time).

Learn more about what is happening and how it affects the Capital Area:

An annular solar eclipse will soon take over skies across the country

Storm Station meteorologist Malcolm Byron explains Saturday's partial solar eclipse.

Highland Road Park Observatory will soon open doors for partial solar eclipse

The observatory is open today to help area residents experience the solar eclipse.

How to buy or make solar viewers to see upcoming eclipse

It's important to protect your eyes when you check out the rare phenomenon. Here's what you need to know.