When is the next solar eclipse? On Saturday, October 12, 2023 there will be a rare opportunity to witness a partial solar eclipse across North America—with 32 million Americans also able to glimpse a “ring of fire” for a few minutes.
Eclipse-chasers from all over the world will be traveling to Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas to see the peak of what is an annular (ring-shaped) solar eclipse, though outside of the 125 miles wide path a partial eclipse will be seen.
Here are 10 things to know about this rare celestial event taking place across the U.S. and beyond:
1. It Will Be Visible From Both Hemispheres
Everyone in North, Central and South America will see something of Saturday’s solar eclipse, with only the western tip of Alaska and the southern halves of Chile and Argentina missing out. However, the narrow path of annularity—where the fiery ring of light will be seen—will only pass over the Pacific Ocean, the U.S., Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia and Brazil before ending at sunset in the Atlantic Ocean. “Max eclipse” will be just off the coast of Nicaragua.
2. Solar Protection Is Essential
This eclipse cannot be viewed safely with the naked eye. You must use solar protection both on your eyes and on cameras and optical equipment. Local shops, museums, planetariums and libraries are good places to buy solar eclipse glasses—though you only need to take a brief look. So share a pair—or just stand close to someone who has some.
3. It’s Caused By A Small New Moon
The strange sight of the ring-shaped outline of the sun surrounding the new moon occurs because the moon is too far away from Earth (apogee) to completely cover the disk of the sun as it eclipses it. The result is a surreal-looking ring-shaped outline of the sun while the moon sits across the center of its disk. In this case up to 91% of the sun will be covered. So it’s actually just a pretty partial eclipse.
4. It Will Hang Over Two Eclipse Petroglyphs
Close too Winnemucca in Nevada, on the centerline of the path of annularity, is Water Canyon and its ancient petroglyph thought to depict a solar eclipse. About 850 miles farther down the path in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico is a petroglyph carved by Ancestral Puebloan people that may represent the sun’s corona during a total solar eclipse about a thousand years ago.
5. Nobody Will See The ‘Ring Of Fire’ In Idaho
Idaho just about gets to be one of the U.S. states crossed by the path of the “ring of fire,” but only 43 square miles of it close to the borders with Oregon and Nevada, according to the Field Guide to the 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipses. It’s empty, but dirt roads make seeing a 1 minute 27 seconds “ring of fire” from Idaho technically possible.
6. It’s The First ‘Ring Of Fire’ In The U.S. Since 2012
Although there was an annular solar eclipse across North America on June 21, 2021—during the height of Covid-19 lockdowns—the “ring of fire” moment was only visible in Canada. The northeast U.S. coast saw a “horned crescent” sunrise that day. However, the last time a “ring of fire” was visible in the U.S. was on May 20, 2012, which also occurred in the U.S. Southwest, though close to sunset.
7. A ‘Grazing Zone’ Will Sweep Across Utah’s Canyonlands National Park
Stand on the centerline of the path of annularity and you’ll see a “ring of fire” for over four minutes. Go right to the edge of the path and, in theory, you’ll see it for just a second or so. Trouble is, the exact radius of the sun and the maths involved becomes fuzzy, creating a “grazing zone” where a “broken ring” will be seen.
For example, Utah’s Canyonlands National Park’s Islands In The Sky region has a north-south road called Grand View Point Road, which cuts through the grazing zone and beyond. As a bonus, the displays of Baily’s beads—the drops of sunlight coming through the moon’s mountains and valleys—are longer at the edge, lasting about 30 seconds either side of peak eclipse.
8. It Will Be Seen Above A Mayan Temple
Although it misses some of the more famous Mayan temples in Campeche on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, the “ring of fire” will be seen from the Edzná archaeological site at 11:23 a.m. CST for 4 minutes, 32 seconds.
9. It Will Be The Last American ‘Ring Of Fire’ Until 2039
The following annular solar eclipse—an entire lunar year later on October 2, 2024—will be seen in Easter Island/Rapa Nui in the Pacific Ocean and from Patagonia in southern Chile and Argentina. The next annular solar eclipse visible from the U.S. will occur on June 21, 2039 in Alaska. The next annular solar eclipse in a similar part of country isn’t until 2046.
10. This Eclipse Has Echoes In 2005 and 2041
Solar eclipses come in groups. The same, or similar, moon shadow is projected onto Earth every 18 years, 11 days and eight hours—a saros (meaning repetition). It’s the time between the sun, moon and Earth returning to an almost identical alignment. The only change is Earth’s rotation, which means the shadow is projected onto a completely different part of the world. This eclipse is in Saros 134, whihc means it’s related to annulars on both October 3, 2005 across Spain and northeast Africa and October 25, 2041 across Japan and thre Pacific Ocean.
I’m an expert on eclipses—the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com and author of The Complete Guide To The Great North American Eclipse of April 8, 2024. For the very latest on the “ring of fire” solar eclipse check my main feed for new articles each day.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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