The “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse in October: time, path and where to see it

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A solar eclipse on Wednesday will create a “ring of fire” in the sky over parts of South America, according to NASA.

Annular solar eclipses occur when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, when the Moon is near or at the farthest point of its orbit from the Earth so that it cannot completely block the Sun, as occurs in a total solar eclipse is. Instead, the sun’s fiery light surrounds the moon’s shadow, creating what is known as the ring of fire.

The path of Wednesday’s annular solar eclipse will pass over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as Antarctica, but those in the remote southeastern Pacific region of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, and parts of Argentina and Chile should be able to see the ring-burning phenomenon in clear skies.

Meanwhile, a crescent-shaped partial solar eclipse will be visible in Hawaii, American Samoa, Brazil, Fiji, French Polynesia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Pitcairn Islands, Kiribati, Tonga, Uruguay, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and many other places. To see if the partial solar eclipse will be visible in your area, check the Time and Date website.

If you are in the path of the partial or annular solar eclipse and plan to view one of the celestial spectacles, make sure you have certified solar eclipse glasses or a portable solar viewer. The sun’s harmful rays will never be completely out of sight, and watching these events could damage your eyes if you look directly at the sun.

The annular solar eclipse is scheduled to begin at 12:50 p.m. ET and end at 4:39 p.m. ET, according to the time and date.

According to EarthSky, the trail begins about 1,056 miles (1,700 kilometers) southwest of Hawaii and then heads southwest. The solar eclipse is expected to be at its peak, meaning the darkening of the Sun by the Moon’s shadow will be at its greatest. at 2:45 p.m. ET over the ocean for just over 7 minutes.

But the eclipse will still provide a spectacle for sky watchers on land. The annular solar eclipse will first be visible at 3:07 p.m. ET over land on the remote island of Rapa Nui, known for the hundreds of head-shaped statues found throughout the island. The Ring of Fire will have a duration of 6 minutes 23 seconds, according to EarthSky.

Then the eclipse will reach the Patagonian coast of Chile at 4:22 p.m. ET before appearing in the Andes and becoming visible a few minutes later in Argentina and then on the South Atlantic coast at 4:27 p.m. ET.

Finally, a partial solar eclipse will be visible north of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia at 4:36 p.m. ET.

It is never safe to look directly at the sun without special protection. Therefore, there is no phase of an annular solar eclipse that can be safely observed with the naked eye because sunlight is never completely blocked.

If you do not have certified solar eclipse glasses or are not using a portable solar observation device to observe the annular solar eclipse, you can use a telescope, binoculars, or camera that has a special solar filter on the front that works the same as solar eclipse glasses. But don’t look through an optical device — camera lens, telescope, binoculars — while wearing solar eclipse glasses or using a portable sun viewer, according to NASA. Sun rays, despite being concentrated through an optical device, can still burn through the filter of the glasses or the viewer and cause serious eye damage.

Sunglasses are not a replacement for solar eclipse glasses or sun viewers, which are thousands of times dimmer and conform to an international standard. Do not use torn, scratched, or damaged solar eclipse glasses or sun viewers.

Eclipses can also be viewed indirectly with a pinhole projector, for example through a hole in an index card. These do-it-yourself viewers work when you stand with your back to the sun and hold up the card. The pinhole projects an image of the sun onto the ground or other surfaces. But never look directly at the sun and through the hole at the sun.

Other pinhole projectors you may already have on hand include colanders, straw hats, or anything with small holes in them. Or you can simply hold your hands up, spread your fingers apart and cross them over each other to create a waffle pattern. The small space in between reflects the sun’s crescent during a partial eclipse or a ring during the annular eclipse.

Standing by a green tree? The small spaces between the leaves will speckle eclipse phase patterns on the ground.

If you’re sitting outside for a while waiting for the eclipse, don’t forget to apply sunscreen and wear a hat to protect your skin.

The next full moon event, the Hunter’s Moon on October 17, will be a supermoon and will be the closest of the year at a distance of 222,095 miles (357,428 kilometers).

The Beaver Moon will occur on November 15th and the last full moon of the year will be the Cold Moon on December 15th.

In the meantime, sky watchers can expect a busy meteor shower season as 2024 comes to a close. According to the American Meteor Society, here are the peak dates for upcoming celestial activity:

Draconids: 7th-8th century October

Orionids: 20th–21st October

Southern Taurids: 4th–5th centuries November

Northern Taurids: 11th–12th centuries November

Leonids: 17th-18th centuries November

Geminids: 13th–14th December

Ursids: 21st-22nd December