Ring Of Fire Solar Eclipse Happening For First Time In Over A Decade, Here’s How To See It
If you’re a space gazer in the US, then there’s going to be quite a significant event to mark on your calendars this October. A ring of fire eclipse will be visible from eight different states, making it the first time in eleven years that this event has been visible in North America. Those in Central and South America will also get a chance to see the event after is passed over North America (via MarthaStewart.com).
The ring of fire eclipse is set to begin on October 13, and those in Oregon, Northern California, Nevada, Utah, northeastern Arizona, southwestern Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas will get a chance to see it before it ends on October 14. We last saw this even in 2012 when it passed over swaths of the US and gave space fans an incredible view of our Sun.
A ring of fire eclipse will be visible over North America on October 13. It’s been eleven years that such an event has happened.
Just keep in mind that you’ll need to be within the 125-mile path to see the full eclipse, otherwise, you will only get a view of the partial eclipse this time around.
The ring of fire eclipse gets its name from the moon passing over the Sun, causing a black disc to cover most of the Sun and a fiery ring to halo around the moon. The event happens when the moon passes between the Earth and Sun and its the farthest point in its orbit. It’s certainly an incredible event to see and well worth making a little drive if you’re close enough to catch it.
Viewing the event requires either specialized eclipse glasses or you can use an indirect viewing method such as a pinhole projector.
While it’s still really cool to see, keep in mind that a ring of fire eclipse isn’t a total solar eclipse. Meaning that it isn’t safe to look at the sun with your naked eyes at any point during the eclipse, and that you’ll need special viewing apparatus to look at the event. Viewing the event requires either specialized eclipse glasses or you can use an indirect viewing method such as a pinhole projector.
How To See The Eclipse
Those in the path of the ring of fire eclipse will need to hope for decent viewing conditions if they want to get a good look at the event. Ideally, clear skies will be the best conditions to view the eclipse, but any conditions where the sun is visible should be sufficient for seeing the event. Those with cloudy and rainy skies may be out of luck this time around.
As mentioned, the ring of fire eclipse will be following a path along the coast of Oregon to Texas’ Gulf Coast. After that, the eclipse is passing over Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Panama before completing its journey through Colombia and the coast of Brazil. With the last event coming in 2012, it’s not often that you get an opportunity to see this event, so be on the lookout.
There is good news for eclipse watchers in the future, though. If you miss the ring of fire eclipse, you can look forward to the total solar eclipse that will be visible in the United States on April 8, 2024. You’ll really want to make sure to travel for that one since the next total eclipse in the US won’t be visible until 2044.
