Annular solar eclipse coming on October 14!

Annular solar eclipse October 14, 2023

The first of two great American solar eclipses is coming. The “ring of fire” solar eclipse of Saturday, October 14, 2023, will be visible to those along a narrow path sweeping over North and South America. At mid-eclipse, those along that eclipse path will see the sun in a ring around the moon. Conversely, those outside the shadow path will see a partial solar eclipse. Important: this is not a total eclipse. At no time during this eclipse will it be safe to look at the sun without proper eye protection.

Astronomers called this an annular eclipse of the sun. That name comes from the Latin word for ring: annulus. And, to be sure, though not as dramatic as a total solar eclipse, this eclipse will be fascinating to view. You really only need to know two things. First, how much of the sun will be covered from your location? Second, what time is the eclipse from your location? More about that in the next section.

Overall, the eclipse will last 214 minutes. At maximum eclipse – for those along the eclipse path – the sun will be 0.907 percent covered by the moon. The part of the sun that will visible is its outer surface. So an annular eclipse is essentially a partial eclipse, throughout the event. And remember, use eye protection!

Click here to learn how to watch a solar eclipse safely.

The second great American eclipse will come early next year. It’ll be the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. Read about the April 8 eclipse here.

Black circle with fuzzy white rim; bright crescent; thin brilliant ring in fuzzy orange circle. — The appearance of a total solar eclipse (left), partial solar eclipse (middle) and annular solar eclipse (right). The one on the right – the annular eclipse – is what those along the eclipse path will see on Saturday, October 14. And we’ll have a total solar eclipse visible from North America on April 8, 2024. Image via K. Bikos/ timeanddate.com.

Seeing the eclipse from your location

You can find local circumstances for a selection of cities at Fred Espenak’s EclipseWise website:

– If you can see the annular phase in the U.S.

– Watching the partial phase in the U.S.

– If you’re in Canada

Fred Espenak provides all times in local time. In addition, the sun’s altitude and azimuth, the eclipse magnitude and obscuration are all listed for the instant of maximum eclipse.

Are you outside the U.S. and Canada? Or do you want to check another source? In that case, try these sources:

– At TimeandDate.com

– The Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator is an interactive web page

– On this interactive Google map

Map of Western Hemisphere showing path of eclipse plus many parallel lines indicating percentage of totality. — View larger. | This map shows what percentage of the sun will be blocked by the moon depending on your location. The October 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse begins in the northwest and sweeps across the U.S. toward the southeast. Then it passes down through Central America, and into South America. Image via GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Ways to watch a solar eclipse safely on October 14

The video below offers tips on how to watch the annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023, safely. Or click here for a printed article on solar eclipse safety. And, by the way, Solar Cycle 25 is ramping up. That means there are going to be more and more spots on the sun in the coming years. With that in mind, any of these safe solar viewing methods can let you enjoy tracking sunspots in the coming years.

More annular solar eclipse maps from Great American Eclipse

Michael Zeiler of GreatAmericanEclipse.com has generously given us permission to share his eclipse maps for the annular eclipse. Here, you can get a better idea of where you’ll want to be and when to see this unique phenomenon.

Map of the U.S. with hundreds of roads in color showing quickest route to the annular solar eclipse. — View larger. | If you live in the contiguous United States, this map shows you the closest location you’d need to drive to in order to see the annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023. Image via GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Map of the U.S. with gray line for path of eclipse and curved lines crossing it annotated with times. — View larger. | This map shows what time the partial phase of the annular eclipse begins on October 14, 2023, by location. Image via GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Map of U.S. with arcing north-south lines and gray ovals within wide line of totality. — View larger. | For those in the contiguous United States, this map shows you what time you can expect the greatest amount of the sun to be hidden by the moon by location. Image via GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Map with many lines paralleling line of totality, each with a small sun showing appearance of eclipse along it. — This map shows how much of the sun you’ll see blocked by the moon – by location – during the annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023. Image via GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Overview of the annular solar eclipse path

On October 14, 2023, the path of the annular solar eclipse starts in the Pacific Ocean, coming onshore in Oregon. Then, the path heads southeast through Nevada, the Four Corners area and Texas. Later, it crosses the Gulf of Mexico and Yucatan Peninsula plus parts of Central America. Finally, it crosses Colombia and Brazil in South America.

The closer to the annular path you are (the red line on the chart at top), the more the sun will be eclipsed by the moon. Likewise, outside of this path, viewers will see a partial solar eclipse.

Notably, over the course of three hours and 34 minutes, the moon’s antumbral shadow will traverse an 8,574-mile-long (13,800-km-long) track covering 0.57% of Earth’s surface area.

This is 2023’s 2nd solar eclipse

The first solar eclipse in 2023 – on April 20, 2023 – was a hybrid solar eclipse whose path of totality passed over North West Cape, a remote peninsula of western Australia. In a hybrid solar eclipse, you see either an annular solar eclipse or a total solar eclipse, depending on your position along the central eclipse path.

October 2023 and April 2024 eclipses

Map of U.S. showing the paths of the 2023 and 2024 eclipses crossing over southern Texas. — The 2023 annular solar eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse are both visible from the United States. And in fact, one region of Texas will be able to see both the maximum annular eclipse and the total solar eclipse. Image via GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Bottom line: The eclipse is coming! The October 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse will cross the United States, Mexico, part of Central America, Colombia and Brazil. Find maps and more here.

Special thanks to Fred Espenak at EclipseWise.com

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