Rare ‘Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse will appear this WEEK: How and when to see the biggest cosmic event of the year

This week, millions will have the chance to see the most exciting astronomical event of the year as a rare ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse sweeps across the Western hemisphere. 

On October 14, much of North, South, and Central America will be treated to a glimpse of an annular eclipse, which causes the Sun to appear as a brilliant burning ring.

Starting from 09:15 PT, or 16:15 BST, the eclipse will follow a path leading from the West Coast of the US down to Northern Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean. 

While the whole of the US will be able to see a partial eclipse, those in the centre of the path will be able to see around 90 per cent of the Sun obscured for up to five minutes. 

This will be the first time in over a decade that the annular eclipse has been seen over Northern America. 

This week, millions will have the chance to see the most exciting astronomical event of the year as a rare ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse sweeps across the Western hemisphere 

The path of the eclipse begins in the state of Oregon before travelling towards the west coast via Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas.

Those in Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, and California will also have a chance to see the maximum obscuring of the Sun if they are in the right part of the state.

Having passed through the US, the path of the eclipse will then continue to travel over Mexico and into South America through Columbia.

The path will finally move through a large swathe of Brazil before ending up over the Atlantic Ocean at sunset. 

Michael Zeiler, cartographer and eclipse-chaser at GreatAmericanEclipse.com, told Space.com that people using eclipse glasses will clearly see a ‘brilliant ring of sunlight’ during the eclipse.

On October 14, much of North, South, and Central America will be treated to a glimpse of an annular eclipse, which causes the Sun to appear as a brilliant burning ring. The path of totality will cross through the Midwest of America from Oregon and southwards through to Texas

Starting from 09:15 PT, or 16:15 BST, the eclipse will follow a path leading from the West Coast of the US down to Northern Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean

‘I would recommend the U.S. National Parks in the “Four Corners” area where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Ariana meet because it’s a sunny time of year after the monsoon season and before the winter storms,’ said Mr Zeiler.

To help budding eclipse hunters, NASA has created an interactive eclipse tracker which reveals the best areas to watch this phenomenal celestial event. 

It features layers of details that space enthusiasts can toggle on or off, including the percentage of the sun that will be covered at the peak of the eclipse in various areas.

Skygazers can also see the path and shapes of the antumbra – the darkest part of the shadow and where annularity occurs – and penumbra, which is the brighter part of the shadow, where only a partial eclipse is visible.

NASA has also included a ‘countdown widget’, which provides a timer for when the eclipse will be at maximum coverage for each city. 

What causes a solar eclipse?

Both annular and total solar eclipses occur when the Moon casts its shadow over part of the Earth.

When the sun, Earth, and Moon are arranged in a line in an event referred to by astronomers as Syzygy, light travelling from the Sun is blocked.

Both annular and total solar eclipses occur when the Moon casts its shadow over part of the Earth 

While the Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon, it is also around 400 times further away, meaning the Moon can completely obscure the Sun during a total eclipse. 

During an annular eclipse however, the Moon is at its furthest point away from the Earth, called its apogee, at approximately 251,000 miles (405,500 km) away. 

This means the Moon casts a smaller shadow and the edge of the Sun is visible from Earth, allowing a burning ring of fire to be visible. 

How to safely watch the solar eclipse 

If you’re lucky enough to be in the path of the 2023 Ring of Fire eclipse, the most important thing to remember is that you must never look directly at the Sun with the naked eye.

Even during the eclipse, the Sun will remain just as bright and exposure will risk permanent damage to your eyes.

Normal sunglasses will not offer protection as they cannot block out enough of the light.

To view the eclipse safely you must use special eclipse glasses which block out more light than a regular pair of glasses.

Alternatively, you can use a pinhole projector to project the shape of the eclipse onto a sheet of paper or screen where it can be safely viewed. 

To make a pinhole projector, make a small hole in a piece of card and hold this up to the Sun.

The light will pass through the hole and can be projected onto a piece of paper held behind it.  

If you’re lucky enough to be in the path of the 2023 Ring of Fire eclipse, the most important thing to remember is that you must never look directly at the Sun with the naked eye 

When will an eclipse be visible in the UK?

Generally, a total solar eclipse is visible every 400 years from any one place, however, partial eclipses are significantly more common. 

The UK’s last total solar eclipse happened on 11 August 1999 and could be seen over parts of Cornwall and Devon while other parts of the UK experienced a partial eclipse.

To see the next partial eclipse you won’t have to wait too long, as one will be visible from the UK on 29 March 2025.

However, for those who are desperate to see a total eclipse, your wait will be a little longer as the next time this will happen over the UK will be September 2090. 

The next total eclipse happening anywhere will be next year on 8 April over Mexico, the US, and Canada.

What is an annular eclipse and how does the stunning display happen?

Diagram of an annular eclipse

The spectacular eclipse is when a ‘burning ring’ appears in the Earth’s sky.

It happens when the Earth, Sun and Moon align as the Moon is at the furthest point away from Earth in its orbit.

This means it is unable to fully obscure the Sun, causing a ‘burning ring’ to appear in the sky. 

This is shown in part B of the diagram on the left.

The fascinating light display happens every six months or so, but has not been visible from the UK since 2003.

The next time Britons will be able to see it will be on 10 June 2021, when it will be visible across the whole country.

Source: NASA 

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk