BY ADRIENNE WIX
RBC | A “ring of fire” solar eclipse can be more specifically called an annular solar eclipse. In an annular solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, but because the Moon is near its apogee (the farthest point from Earth in its elliptical orbit), it doesn’t completely cover the Sun. This results in a ring of sunlight visible around the edges of the Moon, creating a “ring of fire” effect.
During a total solar eclipse, the Moon completely covers the Sun, blocking out all of its light. In contrast, and as previously stated, during an annular eclipse, the Moon doesn’t completely cover the Sun, and the outer edges of the Sun’s disk form a glowing ring, or “ring of fire,” around the Moon.
This month, on Saturday, Oct. 14, an annular, or ring of fire, solar eclipse will cross North, Central, and South America. Observing this eclipse requires proper eye protection, such as eclipse glasses or a solar viewer, because looking at the Sun directly can cause permanent eye damage. The path of an annular eclipse is relatively narrow, so it’s not visible from all locations on Earth. Those within the eclipse’s path will witness the ring of fire, while others outside the path will see a partial eclipse.
To view this eclipse from the United States, you will need to travel to specific locations within Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas. The path does also directly cross over the four corners of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, so you could add Colorado and Arizona to that list as well though their participation is fairly miniscule. The eclipse will begin at 9:13 a.m. in Oregon, and it will end at 12:03 p.m. in Texas, before moving on to cross over parts of Central, and South America.
From Northwestern Colorado we should be able to view a partial solar eclipse starting around 9:45 a.m., and ending by 11:20 a.m. For more information, and to view the direct path of the Oct. 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse, visit https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/where-when/
