The annular solar eclipse, a rare celestial display that occurs when the moon covers nearly all of the sun, as seen Saturday from the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory.

SUNRIVER — Anticipation was high among the families gathered at the

Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory on Saturday morning, their eyes looking at the heavens for a sign.

It was the day of the annular solar eclipse, a rare celestial display that occurs when the moon covers nearly all of the sun. Sunriver sat at the very edge of Oregon’s annularity zone. For days, people had been eagerly checking the weather forecast, dismayed at projections of clouds.

But as the sun rose, patches of blue offered hope.

Perhaps they would see the “ring of fire” burning later that morning after all.

The Sunriver observatory was well prepared for changing weather patterns. As about 100 ticketed guests received protective eyewear, staff was ready to pivot at a moment’s notice with lectures and activities if the clouds stubbornly obscured the sky.

Elizabeth and Madeline Minor from Hillsboro waited patiently with their parents for the eclipse to begin. This would be Madeline’s first eclipse, but Elizabeth had seen the last one in 2017.

“She was three years old at the time, and I was pregnant with Madeline,” recalled Caroline Minor fondly. “And when it was done, Elizabeth (said) ‘Do it again!’”

Unlike the total eclipse Elizabeth had seen in 2017, Madeline’s first eclipse would be an annular solar eclipse. Because the moon orbits earth on an elliptical path, it’s too far away to completely obscure the sun, leaving what is described as a “ring of fire” around the edges of the moon. The greatest zone of annularity was only visible from Sunriver to the California border as the eclipse passed through Oregon, though a partial eclipse was visible at a greater range. It would only last a few minutes.

“It’s important that you cover your eyes during this because it can be very dangerous to look without proper eyeglasses,” warned Mike Caba, one of the observatory’s staff.

Then, about 8:15 a.m., it happened and Elizabeth and Madeline watched a sliver of the moon edge into the sun.

Nearby, Caba rushed to get his telescope into focus. Elizabeth and Madeline were some of the first to catch a glimpse of the moon moving toward the sun, climbing up on a ladder Caba had brought to help young kids see through the telescope.

“This telescope here is an 80 millimeter refractor and it’s very important to note a screen over the top — or a filter I should say — that takes out most of the light,” Caba said in a grandfatherly way, gesturing to the filter attached on the telescope’s front end.

Just as Caba was about to launch into a lecture about sunspots, a wave of thick clouds rolled in. Disappointment reverberated through the group but Caba and other Sunriver observatory staff kept the morale high.

“The weather around here changes every 15 minutes. I think we will still get lucky,” said Caba, reassuring the group.

Meanwhile, more than two dozen cars were parked in an empty lot across from the observatory where amateur astronomers and photographers with giant lenses had set up in a field earlier that morning. Families, bundled in their warmest mittens, sat on picnic blankets, waiting eagerly to see if the weather would hold.

Eugen Trifan and his family had driven four hours from Portland just to see the eclipse. Trifan said he studies physics and has “always been fascinated by astronomy.” As he looked patiently at the sky, his wife ran across the street with a handful of glasses from the observatory’s gift shop.

“Success!” she said, as Trifan laughed at the fact the family had forgotten their eclipse glasses.

Back at the observatory, staff doled out facts about the sun.

“Is the sun 100 times the size of the earth, 10,000 times the size of the earth, 300,000 times the size of the earth or a million times the size of the earth?” Caba asked, seemingly pleased as he paused for people to think. “The answer is, they are all correct, depending upon the unit of measurement you’re using!”

He had apparently been delighted by the trick question.

After half an hour, it seemed like the clouds were there to stay. Cars from around the area slowly began to leave, people conceding defeat. Then, as Caba had promised, the sky cleared just in time to see the moon move fully in front of the sun, revealing the trademark “ring of fire” of an annular eclipse.

Cheers rang out and 7-year-old Maisie McDonald, who had been exploring the observatory’s nature exhibit, ran out to see what was happening. She stood with her dad on a small rock wall with her eclipse glasses pressed against her face.

Disappointment and glee moved through the crowd in waves as clouds obscured, then revealed the eclipse.

Not a head wavered from the horizon as people waited for their next peek at the eclipse. This went on for six minutes before a blanket of haze once again obscured the sun and moon.

The ring of fire was just barely visible to the naked eye through a thin gray veil.