A solar eclipse event will create a “ring of fire” in the skies over parts of South America on Wednesday, according to NASA.
If you’re in the path of the partial or annular eclipse and plan to observe either celestial spectacle, make sure you have a pair of certified eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer.
The eclipse path The annular eclipse will begin at 12:50 p.m.
If you don’t have certified eclipse glasses or use a handheld solar viewer to observe the annular eclipse, you can use a telescope, binoculars or camera that has a special solar filter on the front, which acts the same way eclipse glasses would.
The small space between will reflect the sun’s crescent during a partial eclipse or a ring during the annular eclipse.
NASA reports that on Wednesday, a solar eclipse event will produce a “ring of fire” in the skies over parts of South America.
An annular solar eclipse happens when the moon is either close to Earth or at its furthest point from the planet; as a result, it is unable to completely block the sun as it would be during a total solar eclipse. Instead, the sun’s fiery light surrounds the moon’s shadow, creating the so-called ring of fire.
The path of this October’s annular eclipse event will cross the Pacific, Atlantic, and Antarctic oceans. However, if the skies are clear, people who live in the isolated southeast Pacific territory of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, as well as some parts of Argentina and Chile, should be able to see the ring of fire phenomenon.
A partial solar eclipse in the form of a crescent will be visible in many places, including Hawaii, American Samoa, Brazil, Fiji, French Polynesia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Pitcairn Islands, Kiribati, Tonga, Uruguay, South Georgia, and the Falkland Islands. Visit Time and Date’s website to find out if you can see the partial eclipse where you live.
Make sure you have a portable solar viewer or a set of approved eclipse glasses if you intend to watch either celestial event if you’re in the path of the partial or annular eclipse. Watching these events could cause eye damage if you look directly at the sun, as the sun’s harmful rays are never completely hidden.
The route of the eclipse.
At 12:50 p.m., the annular eclipse will start. m. ET, finishing at 4:39 p.m. me. based on Time and Date, or ET.
EarthSky estimates that the route will start approximately 1,056 miles (1,700 kilometers) southwest of Hawaii and then proceed southwest. Around 2:45 p.m., the eclipse is predicted to peak, which means that the sun will be completely obscured by the moon’s shadow. me. ET for just over seven minutes over the ocean.
On land, however, sky watchers will still be treated to a spectacular show by the eclipse. At 3:07 p.m., the annular eclipse will be visible overland for the first time in the secluded island of Rapa Nui, which is well-known for the hundreds of head-shaped statues that can be found there. me. According to EarthSky, the ring of fire will last for six minutes and twenty-three seconds ET.
At 4:22 p.m., the eclipse will finally reach the Patagonian coast of Chile. me. Before it can be seen in Argentina a few minutes later, it can be seen in the Andes at 4:27 p.m. ET, and finally, at the South Atlantic Coast. me. EST.
Lastly, at 4:36 p.m., a partial eclipse can be seen to the north of South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. M. ET.
How to view the eclipse safely.
No phase of an annular eclipse can be safely viewed with the unaided eye since the sun’s light is never totally obscured, just as it is never safe to look directly at it without wearing specialized protection.
You can use a telescope, binoculars, or camera with a special solar filter on the front to observe the annular eclipse if you don’t have certified eclipse glasses or if you want to use a handheld solar viewer. These tools function similarly to eclipse glasses. But according to NASA, avoid looking through any optical device—camera lens, telescope, binoculars—while wearing eclipse glasses or using a portable solar viewer. Given how concentrated they can be through an optical device, solar rays can still cause severe eye damage even through the filter on glasses or viewers.
Sunglasses cannot replace solar viewers or eclipse glasses, which are held to international standards and thousands of times darker than regular glasses. Use of solar viewers or eclipse glasses that are ripped, scratched, or broken is not advised.
With an index card that has been punched with a pinhole projector, eclipses can also be seen indirectly. Holding the card up while facing the sun is how these DIY viewers operate. An image of the sun is projected onto the ground or other surfaces by the pinhole. However, you should never turn to face the sun or look through the pinhole at it straight.
You might already own colanders, straw hats, or anything else with tiny holes as additional pinhole projectors. Alternatively, all you have to do is hold up your hands, spread your fingers apart, and cross them over to form a waffle pattern. During a partial eclipse, the tiny gap between will reflect the sun’s crescent, and during an annular eclipse, a ring.
When you stand next to a leafy tree, the tiny gaps between the leaves will cause the ground to dapple with patterns representing the eclipse phase.
Remember to wear a hat and sunscreen to protect your skin if you plan to spend some time outside watching the eclipse.
Future astronomical events.
The hunter’s moon, the upcoming full moon event, will take place on October 17. At 222,095 miles (357,428 kilometers) away, it will be the closest supermoon of the year.
November 15 is the beaver moon, and December 15 is the cold moon, the year’s last full moon.
As 2024 comes to an end, skywatchers can expect a busy meteor shower season. For future celestial activity, the American Meteor Society has identified the following peak dates:.
Oct. 7-8 is Draconid Week.
October 20–21 is Orionid Season.
Southern Taurids: November 4–5.
Northern Taurids: November 11–12.
11–18 November, Leonids.
December 13, 14, are Geminids.
Dec. 21–22 is Ursids days.
