In advance of an annular “ring of fire” solar eclipse occurring this Saturday, NASA has set up an interactive eclipse explorer so people can see when they should look up, and what phase of the eclipse they will experience from their location.
Most of the contiguous United States will experience a partial eclipse this Saturday, Oct. 14. The eclipse is expected to begin at 9:13 a.m. PST in Oregon, and pass through Northern Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico, before reaching Texas just before noon CST. Only the communities along this path will experience totality, when the moon will align with the sun at its farthest point from the Earth, creating a ring of fire effect in the sky.
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Even without totality, a partial eclipse is still a sight to see with a pair of solar eclipse glasses that adhere to the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard, of course. This is where NASA’s interactive eclipse explorer comes in handy – it loads as a map of the mainland United States, with the path of the eclipse clearly marked from Oregon to Texas. It also gives the viewer a chance to compare the paths of past and future solar eclipses – including the one that will occur in April 2024. The explorer also shows which areas will experience the least and most amount of eclipse in terms of totality and time.
Several national parks are preparing for an influx of visitors looking to experience the eclipse in an open area. National parks in the path of totality include Crater Lake in Oregon, Great Basin in Nevada, and the Padre Island National Seashore along the coast of Texas. Several national parks in the Four Corners region where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Colorado meet are in the path of totality.
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Saturday’s annular solar eclipse will be the last one visible in the contiguous U.S. until June 21, 2039, when the celestial sight will only be visible from Alaska, according to NASA.
However, skywatchers won’t need to wait 16 years for another spectacular sight in the sky. A total solar eclipse, in which the moon will completely block the sun from Earth’s view, occurs on April 8, 2024, less than six months from Saturday.
