Clear your schedule this Saturday and look to the sky.
This weekend , if you live in North , Central or South America , you ’re in for a heavenly treat — courtesy of our very own Lord’s Day and Sun Myung Moon .
On October 14 , the doughnut-shaped solar eclipse will take place , and it will be visible either fully or partially ( depending on location ) across the Americas . If you ’re unfamiliar with what an annularsolar eclipseis , the name gives a gross idea of what to expect . It is an annular , or ring - shaped , phenomenon , in the sense that you will enamor the moon placing itself in front of the Sunday in a way that creates a " ring of fire " effect right around it .
Why does n’t the lunation cover the entirety of the sun , though ? Well , that has to do with where the moon is placed when circinate solar eclipses happen . The rationality why you get to see the band of blast is because the moon buy the farm between the Lord’s Day and the Earth while it is at its farthest point from Earth , which makes it come along smaller than the sun from our view . Hence the doughnut-shaped occultation shape .
Paul Souders/Stone/Getty Images
There are , however , different phases to the occultation , and depend on where you ’re locate , you might be lucky enough to witness a full occultation or a partial one . Either way , to see it , you must place yourself along the course of annularity , which , as NASA explicate , are " the locations on Earth from which the moon will appear to pass across the center of the sun . "
In the US , you have plenty of locations to prefer from . According to NASA , the annular solar occultation will begin in Oregon at 9:13 am PDT , and it will end in Texas at 12:03 post-mortem examination PDT . After that , it will move to Mexico , and it will pass over Guatemala , Belize , Honduras , Nicaragua , and Panama . In South America , it will cross Colombia , and it will finally come about over Northern Brazil before stop around sunset time in the Atlantic Ocean .
Thankfully , NASA put together a mesa highlighting where and when the occultation will be visible from a few prime US cities . In Alturas , California , annularity will be maximal at 9:20 am PDT , while in Richfield , Utah maximum annularity will be reached at 10:28 am MDT . From San Antonio , Texas , instead efflorescence annularity will be seeable at 11:54 CDT . To take a tone at the integral table , you’re able to visitthis site . you’re able to also view the path of the annular solar occultation ( and liken it to the track of totality forthe upcoming 2024 solar eclipse ) on the NASA mapping below :
There ’s another affair you might want to take into retainer when picking your viewing position , and it ’s ring the " edge outcome . " AsSpace.compoints out , the " closed chain of fire " is surely a unequalled heap , but so is the " broken ring " one .
While position yourself in the center of the eclipse path is your good bet to get the ring of fervency , take for either the northern or southern boundary of the path is key to catch a coup d’oeil of the cave in ring phenomenon . If you do this , you ’ll see the moon partially blocking the Sunday rays from one side , which will result in a broken in ring of fire issue rather than a full hoop of fervor .
However , the cool part of the broken mob is probably watch Baily ’s bead . Due to the moon ’s atypical surface , even when it is covering the Lord’s Day result in a impoverished doughnut , some beads of light source are still able to stream through interruption , which is the space between the heap on the moon . Seeing Baily ’s beads is a somewhat uncommon experience , and they only last a few second as the synodic month move .
Courtesy of NASA
If you desire a chance at experiencing the edge effect during the annulate solar eclipse , Space.comidentified seven locations(including fleck in Oregon , Texas , New Mexico , and Colorado ) that will be your good wager .
Now , onto the very of import stuff and nonsense . Do not , under any circumstances , try and see at the occultation without protective gear ! Since the sun is never completely covered by the moonlight in an annulated eclipse , it is never dependable to look directly at it without specialised eye protection gimmick . Your regular sunglasses in spades wo n’t cut it — the lense , no matter how colored , are n’t dependable for view the sun . If you want to watch the annulated solar eclipse with your eyes , you must use safe solar view glasses or a safe handheld solar watcher , which are M of times darker . you may feel more particular and a list of the one that comply with the ISO 12312 - 2 international standardright here . Also , to check that you really do n’t injure yourself , we put together a guide on where to get safe and dependable eclipse shades — you may check it outhere .
Optical machine are also a no - no . Camera lenses , telescopes , opera glasses , or any other veritable opthalmic gimmick are not good to utilize even if you ’re wearing occultation glass or while using a solar viewer . The concentrated solar irradiation will burn through the filter , which can cause you severe eye accidental injury . For more safety machine precautions , you may visitNASA ’s information Sir Frederick Handley Page .
Courtesy of NASA
And since we ’re speak about lens and eclipse sunglasses , we have a nerveless treat in store for you . During the eclipse , try and look at the shade cast by trees and their folio . As theWashington Postpoints out , during an eclipse leave act as a tiny natural " pinhole projector , " meaning they catch the " simulacrum " of the sun and project tiny versions of it onto the ground . As a result , you ’ll likely see many piddling mob or sunlight or sickle - like number on the ground where the shade is supposed to make .
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Ready to go stargazing?
Here are allthe best stargazing eventsthat you’re able to get out and see this month or you could quell in andstream the northerly lightsfrom base . If you ’re just getting started , check out ourguide to uranology for beginnersoreasy stargazing road slip from magnanimous US metropolis .
