Are you ready for America’s ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse?
An annular solar eclipse will soon rip across western U.S. states
On October 14, 2023 a perfect “ring of fire” solar eclipse lasting around 4 minutes 40 seconds will be visible from more than 20 of the best national parks in the U.S. Southwest.
Inside the 125 miles-wide “path of annularity” will be the likes of Crater Lake National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Natural Bridges National Monument, with high chances of clear skies on the Colorado Plateau. The path then surges across Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and into Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia and Brazil (Google Map).
Better known as an annular solar eclipse, October 14, 2023 will see a smaller-than-usual moon fit across 95% of the sun to leave a ring—or annulus—around it.
Hence the name “ring of fire.” It differs from the “Great American Eclipse” of August 21, 2017, which was a total solar eclipse that brought darkness in the day and a chance to see the sun’s delicate corona.
That won’t be possible for the 2023 eclipse, which will essentially be a beautiful circular partial solar eclipse; solar eclipse glasses will need to be worn for the duration of the celestial spectacle.
When and where is the 2023 annular solar eclipse?
The U.S., Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil, beginning at 9:13 a.m. PDT in Oregon and ending just before sunset at 16:43 BRT on Brazil’s Atlantic coast.
Everyone in the Americas will see a partial solar eclipse over about 2.5 hours. To see a “ring of fire” for about four minutes in the middle, you need to stand within the (around) 125 miles-wide path of annularity.
There are some excellent maps from eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler over on GreatAmericanEclipse.com, a few of which are included here, while Xavier Jubier provides a useful interactive Google Map.
10 places to watch the “ring of fire” in North America & Mexico
In the U.S. the “ring of fire” will be visible from the states of Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. There’s a lot of national parks inside the 125 miles-wide “path of annularity” to view it from, but check local weather predictions prior to travel. The best weather predicted on the long term forcaste for these parks is on the Colorado Plateau:
1 – Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
- How long is annularity? 4 minutes 18 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 19°
2 – Great Basin National Park, Nevada
- How long is annularity? 2 minutes 34 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 27°
3 – Parowan Gap Petrogyphs, Utah
- How long is annularity? 44 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 29°
4 – Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
- How long is annularity? 4 minutes 24 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 30°
5 – Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
- How long is annularity? 2 minutes 13 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 30°
6 – Canyonlands National Park, Utah
- How long is annularity? 1 minute 2 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 31°
7 – Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
- How long is annularity? 4 minutes 28 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 31°
8 – Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
- How long is annularity? 3 minutes 16 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 33°
9 – Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico
- How long is annularity? 4 minutes 42 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 34°
10 – San Antonio, Texas
- How long is annularity? 4 minutes 8 seconds
- How high is it in the sky? 47°
However, surely one of the hotspots for the 2023 annular solar eclipse will be the Maya temple at Edzná on the Yucatán peninsula where a “ring of fire” will reign for 4 minutes 31 seconds while very high in the sky at 61°.
Image credit: Pixabay.com
