Skywatchers across the U.S. are preparing for a rare glimpse at a special type of solar eclipse this week, which will create some spectacular effects with our sun.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, parts of North, Central, and South America will experience an annular solar eclipse — a sky event during which the moon obscures 90% of the sun and momentarily leaves just a bright, perfect circle of the sun’s outer edge (unlike a total solar eclipse, which blots out the sun completely).
According to NASA, the path of this annular eclipse’s peak viewing area will sweep diagonally across the western U.S. from the lower Pacific Northwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Viewers directly in the path of this eclipse will get to see first-hand why this eclipse is nicknamed the “Ring of Fire,” as the moon darkens the sun’s center but leaves a fiery outer ring.
While the rest of the U.S. won’t see this namesake fiery ring, many will still get to experience a fascinating partial eclipse. The extent of the partial eclipse will depend on your viewing location; the closer you are to the eclipse’s path, the more of the moon’s shadow you’ll see crossing the sun.
According to maps from GreatAmericanEclipse.com, most of Michigan is in a zone that will witness about 30% of the sun darkened by the moon. This will produce a cool “crescent sun” effect, almost as if the moon is “eating” the sun.
The time of this eclipse is also dependent on your viewing location, though for much of Michigan the window of the partial eclipse will run from roughly 11:45 am. ET until just before 2:30 p.m. The website Eclipse2024.org has resources for this Ring of Fire eclipse, including an “eclipse simulator” you can use to see the exact time for the eclipse in your city; try it here.
NASA will also be livestreaming the event on its YouTube page here.
If you plan on viewing Saturday’s eclipse, regardless of location, be sure to have eclipse glasses or lens covers handy: It is not safe to view eclipses either directly or through a camera lens, binoculars or telescope without special eclipse glasses or a solar filter. A list of NASA-approved glasses and other gear for safe solar viewing can be found through NASA here.
Be sure to save those glasses, too: This eclipse is something of an appetizer for an even bigger solar event to come on April 8, 2024, when a total solar eclipse will cross more than a dozen states in the U.S. Michigan will see 99% of that eclipse, and is within driving distance of its path of totality.
Learn more about the 2023 annular eclipse on NASA here.
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