These first two photos were taken through a safe solar filter passing less than 1/100,000th of the light, which is why the sky appears black.

During an annular eclipse (middle), the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun but appears too small to fully cover it, leaving a 'ring of fire' still shining. And again, North Americans outside the path will be treated to a partial solar eclipse if the weather cooperates.ĭuring a partial solar eclipse (left), the Moon covers only part of the Sun's bright face. On October 14, 2023, the Moon will again pass directly between Earth and the Sun - but this time it will not quite completely cover the solar disk, instead turning it into a thin 'ring of fire.' This annular (Latin for ring-shaped) eclipse will be visible within a roughly 125-mile-wide path from Oregon to Texas and on into Mexico and northern South America. A partial solar eclipse will again be visible to nearly everyone in North America fortunate to have cloud-free skies.Įven more remarkably, we'll have a different type of solar eclipse in North America just six months earlier. This time the Moon's dark central shadow, about 115 miles wide, will cross Mexico, sweep northeast from Texas to Maine, and then darken eastern Canada. Remarkably, another total solar eclipse is coming to North America on April 8, 2024, just seven years after the last one. The 2017 total solar eclipse was the first to touch the 'Lower 48' since 1979 and the first to span the U.S. If you were outside that path under clear skies somewhere else in North America (or northern South America), perhaps you saw a partial solar eclipse that day. Map courtesy Michael Zeiler, .ĭo you remember the total solar eclipse that crossed the continental United States from coast to coast on August 21, 2017? If you lived in, or traveled into, the 70-mile-wide path of totality, where the Moon completely blocked the Sun's bright face and turned day into night for a few minutes, you undoubtedly remember it well. Nearly everyone in North America will have a partial solar eclipse both days, weather permitting. Just six months later, on April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will sweep from Mexico to Texas to eastern Canada, plunging day into night and revealing the magnificent solar corona for anyone fortunate to be within the path of totality and under clear skies. On October 14, 2023, anyone under clear skies within a path that sweeps from Oregon to Texas and then through parts of Central and South America will see an annular ('ring') eclipse. North America will soon be treated to two major solar eclipses, when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align.

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