Annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023

One month from today, the first of two great American solar eclipses will take place. It’ll happen on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Only those using proper eye protection – in a narrow swath sweeping over North and South America – will get to see the sun form a ring around the moon at mid-eclipse. Many more, however, will observe a partial solar eclipse. Make sure you protect your eyes with eclipse glasses throughout this eclipse. Order them now!

Annular solar eclipse October 14, 2023

When and where to watch: An annular solar eclipse will sweep across the Americas on October 14, 2023. The annular eclipse will begin at 16:12 UTC (12:12 p.m. EDT) and end at 19:46 UTC (3:46 p.m. EDT). The partial eclipse begins at 15:03 UTC (11:03 a.m. EDT) and ends at 20:55 UTC (4:55 p.m. EDT).
Greatest eclipse takes place at 17:59 UTC (1:59 p.m. EDT).
Duration of the annular eclipse is 214 minutes.
Maximum eclipse: At maximum eclipse, the sun is 0.907 percent covered by the moon with an eclipse magnitude of 0.952.

The number one rule for solar eclipse observing – even partial eclipses – is to make sure you protect your eyes by using a safe solar filter. Click here to learn how to watch a solar eclipse safely.

Later, the second great American eclipse will be the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. Read about the April 8 eclipse here.

Annular solar eclipse

A big eclipse event for us in North America comes on October 14, 2023. Viewers along a narrow path in North, Central and South America will see an annular solar eclipse. At mid-eclipse, the moon – in a distant part of its orbit – will pass directly in front of the sun. But the sun – slightly larger in the sky on that day than the moon – will appear as a bright ring, or annulus, around the moon. And, even for those along the eclipse path, eclipse glasses will be needed throughout. Still … a fascinating event, to be sure!

On October 14, 2023, the path of the annular solar eclipse starts in the Pacific Ocean, coming onshore in Oregon. Then, the path heads southeast through Nevada, the Four Corners area and Texas. Then it crosses the Gulf of Mexico and Yucatan Peninsula plus parts of Central America. Finally, it crosses Colombia and Brazil in South America. Also, the closer to the annular path you are (the red line on the chart at top), the more the sun will be eclipsed by the moon. Likewise, outside of this path, viewers will see a partial solar eclipse.

The number one rule for solar eclipse observing is to make sure you protect your eyes by using an appropriate filter. Purchase eclipse glasses from the EarthSky Store.

This is 2023’s 2nd solar eclipse

The first solar eclipse in 2023 – on April 20, 2023 – was a hybrid solar eclipse whose path of totality passes over North West Cape, a remote peninsula of western Australia. In a hybrid solar eclipse, you see either an annular solar eclipse or a total solar eclipse, depending on your position along the central eclipse path.

The track of the annular solar eclipse

By far, the most-watched solar eclipse of 2023 will be the October annular solar eclipse, whose path sweeps across very populated parts of the globe. The path of the annular eclipse begins in the North Pacific at 16:12 UTC where the moon’s antumbral shadow meets Earth and forms a 152-mile-wide (245-km-wide) corridor. The duration of the annular phase here is four minutes 19 seconds. Then, rushing southeast, the antumbra quickly reaches the Pacific coast of Oregon (16:16 UTC). At this location, the path is 136 miles (220 km) wide, the central duration of the annular phase is 4 minutes 34 seconds, and the sun’s altitude is 17 degrees.

Subsequently, continuing across the western United States, the annular track traverses portions of nine states. In order, they are Oregon, California, Idaho (only a small southwestern corner lies in the path of annularity), Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. By the time the antumbra reaches the Gulf Coast of Texas (16:56 UTC), the path is 118 miles (190 km) wide, the central duration of the annular phase is five minutes two seconds and the sun’s altitude is 50 degrees.

From North America to Central and South America

The annular track also crosses Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Then it crosses parts of six Central American nations: Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The instant of greatest eclipse occurs at 17:59:31 UTC just off the eastern coast of Nicaragua. There, the duration of annularity is five minutes 16 seconds, the path width is 118 miles (190 km), and the sun’s altitude is 68 degrees. The eclipse magnitude is 0.952 and the eclipse obscuration is 0.907.

Then, after Central America, the path of annularity sweeps across Colombia and Brazil, ending in the Atlantic Ocean at 19:46 UTC.

Notably, over the course of 3 hours and 34 minutes, the moon’s antumbral shadow traverses an 8,574-mile-long (13,800-km-long) track covering 0.57% of Earth’s surface area.

Seeing the eclipse from your location

You can find local circumstances for a selection of cities at the EclipseWise website for Canada, the partial phase in the U.S., and the annular phase in the U.S. All times are provided in local time. In addition, the sun’s altitude and azimuth, the eclipse magnitude and obscuration are all listed for the instant of maximum eclipse.

Are you outside the U.S. and Canada? The October 14, 2023, Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator is an interactive web page. It can quickly calculate the local circumstances for the eclipse from any geographic location not included in the links above.

You can also find the path of the October 14, 2023, eclipse on an interactive Google map.

Eclipse maps from Great American Eclipse

Michael Zeiler of GreatAmericanEclipse.com has generously given us permission to share his eclipse maps for the annular eclipse. Here you can get a better idea of where you’ll want to be and when to see this unique phenomenon.

October 2023 and April 2024 eclipses

Read more: Annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023, from Michael Zeller

Bottom line: Now just a month away! The October 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse will cross the United States, Mexico, part of Central America, Colombia and Brazil. Find maps and more here.

Big eclipses for North America: Total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024

Via EclipseWise