Topline
An annular solar eclipse dubbed the “ring of fire” will sweep through the U.S. and Mexico today, darkening the midday sky in a rare phenomenon leaving a thin ring of light around the moon from Oregon to Texas, and will be the last of its kind in the U.S. until 2039.
The annular solar eclipse will pass through the U.S. from Oregon to Texas.
Key Facts
The eclipse will be a partial one referred to as an annular eclipse, which occurs when the moon falls in a direct line between the Earth and the Sun, but when the moon is at its farthest point from the Earth, appearing smaller than a total solar eclipse and leaving the iconic ring of fire around its perimeter, according to NASA.
The event will last just under two hours, starting along Oregon’s coast at 9:16 a.m. local time before appearing to travel in a southeastern direction toward Texas, appearing in Albuquerque around 10:34 a.m. local time and ending just south of Corpus Christi at 12:03 p.m. local time, according to NASA.
The full extent of the eclipse will only be visible in a narrow line between Oregon and Texas, including parts of Nevada, Utah, the Four Corners area, New Mexico and southern Texas, though people will be able to catch its partial effects throughout the U.S., Mexico and most of Canada.
To see at least 80% of the sun covered by the moon, people will need to be in Oregon, Nevada, southern Idaho, northern California, northern Arizona, Utah, southern Colorado, New Mexico or Texas, or along the Mexican border, according to maps from NASA and the Great American Eclipse.
After it passes into the Gulf of Mexico, the eclipse will also be visible in parts of Central America, as well as Colombia and Brazil, before moving over the Atlantic Ocean near sunset.
Big Number
70 million. That’s how many Americans NASA estimates will be able to watch the eclipse as it crosses from the Pacific Northwest to Texas.
Contra
Scientists advise Americans interested in viewing the eclipse to invest in a pair of eclipse glasses, a specialty set of eyewear thousands of times darker than ordinary sunglasses, according to NASA, which discourages people from observing the eclipse with regular sunglasses alone, let alone a set of binoculars or with no sunglasses at all. Viewers can also watch the eclipse through an indirect method by creating a pinhole in a piece of paper, cardboard or aluminum foil and staring at a spot of light created by the hole, rather than staring into the sky.
What To Watch For
Although next week’s eclipse will be the last annular one until June 2039, Americans will have a second chance to see an eclipse next April when a total solar eclipse sweeps through the U.S. on April 8. That eclipse—which will occur when the moon is closer to the Earth and totally block out the sun—is projected to head in a northeastern direction from Mexico, to the Texas border before heading north to the Great Lakes states and eventually to Maine, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, Canada.
More than 6.6 million Americans will be able to see the full eclipse.
A total solar eclipse is less than six months away.
Further Reading
70 Million Americans Could See This ‘Ring Of Fire’ Eclipse, Says NASA (Forbes)
It’s Time To Get Your Solar Eclipse Glasses—While You Still Can (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/10/14/ring-of-fire-solar-eclipse-heres-where-and-how-to-watch-it-today/