Millions of people will witness a celestial wonder on Saturday when the moon is positioned between the Earth and the sun, creating a ‘Ring of Fire’ in the sky.
This year’s annular solar eclipse will run along a 125-mile path from Oregon to Brazil.
About eight US states will be in the Ring of Fire’s path: Oregon, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Texas.
The cosmic event will take place on October 14, starting at 12:13 pm ET in Oregon and ending three hours later in Texas.
Those in Colorado, Arizona, Idaho and California will also have a chance to see the maximum solar eclipse if they are in the right part of the state.
This will be the first time in 11 years that an annular solar eclipse will be visible in North America
About eight US states will be in the path of the 2023 annular solar eclipse: Oregon, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Texas
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, blocking the view along a small path from Earth of some or all of the sun’s face as it passes.
The one that will take place on October 14 is an ‘annular solar eclipse’, which occurs when the moon moves between the earth and the sun at a time when the moon is at or near its farthest point from our planet.
It does not completely obscure the face of the sun, unlike in a total solar eclipse.
Because the moon is farther from Earth than usual during an annular solar eclipse, the moon will not completely eclipse the sun, but instead will appear as a dark disk superimposed on the sun’s larger, bright face in the sky is.
As a result, the eclipse will momentarily look like a ring of fire surrounding the dark disk of the moon.
The Ring of Fire occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun at a time when the moon is at or near its farthest point from our planet
Experts warn that it is unsafe to look directly at the bright sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing, which can pose the risk of eye injury
This year’s annular solar eclipse will run along a 125-mile path from Oregon to Brazil
According to NASA, the path of maximum solar eclipse in the US passes through parts of the eight states and over parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia and Brazil before ending in the Atlantic Ocean at sunset. end. Ocean.
The those living in much larger parts of North America, Central America and South America will be able to see less of the solar eclipse – still an impressive sight.
Michael Zeiler, cartographer and eclipse chaser at GreatAmericanEclipse.com, told Space.com that people wearing eclipse glasses will clearly see a “brilliant ring of sunlight” during the eclipse.
“I would recommend the US national parks in the ‘Four Corners’ area where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Ariana meet because it’s a sunny time of year after the monsoon season and before the winter storms,” Zeiler said. said.
Experts warn that it is unsafe to look directly at the bright sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar power, which can pose the risk of eye injury.
Because the sun is never completely blocked by the moon in an annular solar eclipse, it is never safe to look directly at it without such eye protection.
According to experts, viewing it through a camera lens, binoculars or telescope without a special-purpose solar filter can cause serious eye injury.
They recommend using safe solar viewing glasses or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times during an annular solar eclipse, and note that regular sunglasses are not safe for looking at the sun.
Dr Emily Drabek-Maunder, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, warned that looking directly at the Sun, even partially obscured, could cause serious and permanent eye damage.
“Never look directly at the Sun or use standard sunglasses, this can seriously injure your eyes,” added Drabek-Maunder.
“You can make a projector by poking a small hole in a piece of card.”