SPOKANE, Wash. — It's the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse which will be visible in some capacity for the entire U.S. and most of North and South America!
On the morning of Saturday, October 14th, the moon will pass in front of the sun, casting its shadow on the earth. This is the eclipse. For most of us, the sun-moon alignment isn't perfect enough and thus the moon will only partially block out the sun's light. However, for a sliver of locations, that 93 million mile celestial alignment is perfect! And the moon will stand directly in front of the sun for those observers.
... but the sun's light will still reach the Earth. Why? Because the moon is a little too far away in its elliptical orbit. In this case, the moon won't be able to cover up the Sun completely. This creates a beautiful effect that is called the "Annular Eclipse" or what is commonly called a "Ring of Fire Eclipse."
Those in the path of the Annular Eclipse include Eugene, OR; Elko, NV; rural areas south of Salt Lake City, UT; Albuquerque, NM; and Midland, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi in Texas.
The magnitude of the eclipse only hits 89-90% in the path of annularity. Meaning 10-11% of the sun's light will make a ring on the outside of the Moon in the sky.
For Spokane, we are close to that central path and will find ourselves deep within the partial phase of the eclipse. Beginning at 8:09 a.m. and ending at 10:44 a.m. The maximum eclipse will be at 9:23 a.m. It will be noticeably darker for about a half-hour before and afterwards. If you want to see the crescent shaped sun directly you'll need special eclipse glasses as to not damage your eyes (please don't look directly at the sun).
There are other methods to see the partially blocked sun, all via "projection." You can make a pin-hole projector for an easy science experiment. Or you could more simply have the sun's light pass through your fingers by hatching them together, a colander, or through a leafy tree. Look for crescents of sun's light to be projected onto the ground!
The next eclipse that will be visible in the U.S. will be the total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024. This time the moon completely blocks out the sun and reveals the sun's outer atmosphere known as the corona. This is one of the most beautiful sights you can witness (speaking from experience as I saw the last total solar eclipse back in 2017). The path of totality then will run from Texas through Ohio and Maine. Spokane will only get a 27% partial eclipse during this one.
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