Annular solar eclipse of 2023 in the US: How and where to watch the phenomenon

On the morning of Saturday, 14 October, the Moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth, producing an annular solar eclipse which will be visible from several western and southern locations of the U.S. After that it will be visible from parts of Mexico, Central America and Brazil.

What is an annular eclipse?

According to NASA, “an annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth while it is at its farthest point from earth.” As the moon is far from Earth, it looks smaller than the Sun and doesn’t completely cover it, which creates a “ring of fire” effect in the sky. Because the Sun is not completely covered, observers must wear eye protection at all times while watching this phenomenon. The eclipse is visible if the weather is good (not cloudy) and if the observer is close to the path of annularity, which are the locations on Earth from which the Moon will appear to pass across the center of the sun.

Phases of an Annular Eclipse

The annular eclipse has four phases:

Partial eclipse

When the Moon begins to pass in front of the Sun, it produces a partial eclipse. The Moon will cover more and more of the Sun’s light, which will make the Sun appear as a smaller crescent before it forms a “C” shape. The phase is also known as first contact.

Annularity

About an hour and 20 minutes after the partial eclipse phase starts, the Moon will fully move into the Sun’s path, leaving a luminous “ring” of the Sun behind the Moon. This stage is referred to as annularity or second contact. Its duration will vary between 1 and 5 minutes, depending on the observer’s location. During the event, the sky will look darker but not as much as during a total solar eclipse, and some animals may behave as if it’s dusk. Temperature may also drop.

Return to partial eclipse

This phase, called third contact, consists of the Moon passing across the Sun’s face for about another hour and 20 minutes, producing another partial eclipse phase.

Partial eclipse ends

In the last phase, known as fourth contact, the Moon keeps moving until it no longer overlaps with the Sun’s disk. The eclipse ends.

When does the annular eclipse start?

In the U.S. the annular solar eclipse will begin on 14 October in Oregon at 9:13 a.m. PDT and ends in Texas at 12:03 p.m CDT. After that the eclipse will pass Mexico and Central America, passing over Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, then crossing into South America in Colombia. It will pass over Northern Brazil before ending at sunset in the Atlantic Ocean.

Where can I see the annular solar eclipse in the U.S.?

In proper weather conditions, the astronomical event will be visible in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as some parts of California, Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona.

Where can I see the annular solar eclipse online?

NASA will have a live video of the event on its official YouTube Channel.

Solar eclipse events in National Parks around the U.S.

There will be several events surrounding the annular solar eclipse in national parks all around the U.S. There will be full programs in the Great Basin National Park (Nevada), the Petroglyph National Monument (New Mexico), the El Malpais National Monument (New Mexico), in the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument (New Mexico), the Big Thicket National Preserve (Texas), the Cedar Breaks National Monument (Utah), the Rock Creek Park (District of Columbia), the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (Texas), the George Washington Carver National Monument (Missouri), and the Shiloh National Military Park (Tennessee).

How to watch the solar eclipse safely

According to NASA, viewing an annular eclipse directly, through a camera lens, binoculars or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.

To safely watch an annular solar eclipse with your eyes, always use proper solar viewing glasses (known as “eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer. Eclipse glasses are not the same as regular sunglasses, no matter how dark they may seem. Safe solar viewers are much darker and should meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard. Please note that NASA does not endorse any specific brand of solar viewers.

Before using your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer, make sure to check them for any tears, scratches, or damage. If you find any issues, it’s best to discard the device. Also, when children are using solar viewers, always supervise them.

NASA warns: “Do NOT look at the Sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury.”

If you don’t have eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer, you can use an indirect viewing method that doesn’t involve looking directly at the Sun. One approach is to use a pinhole projector, created by making a small opening, like a hole in an index card, which projects an image of the Sun onto a nearby surface. Never attempt to look directly at the Sun through the pinhole.

You can also craft your own eclipse projector using a cardboard box, a white sheet of paper, tape, scissors, and aluminum foil. Place the Sun behind you, and let sunlight pass through a pinhole in the aluminum foil attached to one side of the box. During the partial phases of a solar eclipse, this will cast an image of a crescent Sun onto the white paper inside the box. To view it, look through another hole cut into the box.

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