Rosario Monachino
A rare solar eclipse dubbed the ‘ring of fire’ will be visible this week.
The spectacular celestial event – known as an annular solar eclipse – happens when the moon gets in between the Sun and Earth and blocks the light shining down onto our planet.
It’s called an annular eclipse as only a thin ring, or annulus, of light remains visible.
This week is the last chance for stargazers to see this rare cosmic phenomenon – with the appropriate eye protection – as it won’t appear again for another 20 years.
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The stunning sight can be spotted in parts of the US, Mexico, and South and Central America on Saturday, October 14.
It will be visible in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas, and some parts of California, Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona.
It will then continue on to Central America, passing over Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Panama before travelling through Colombia in South America and then ending off the coast of Natal, Brazil, in the Atlantic Ocean.
NASA says that it will be starting at 9:13am PT and ending at 12:03pm CT and locals in any of the states mentioned will be able to see the eclipse above them.
The space agency added that people across the US should also see at least a partial eclipse.
Fortunately for those who can’t see it in the flesh, NASA will be running a live stream from cameras in Texas and New Mexico for you to see the eclipse.
Astronomers have given it the nickname the ‘ring of fire’ as the Moon will be in front of the Sun while it is at its furthest point from Earth, meaning that it will not completely cover our star.
Instead, the Sun’s light will surround the Moon’s shadow – hence looking like a ring of fire.
Kelly Korreck, the eclipse program manager at NASA, has encouraged locals to step outside and view it for themselves – as it won’t be happening again until 2046.
Speaking to CNN, she said: “The next annular eclipse seen in this part of the country is actually going to be in 2046.
“It’s going to be a long stretch before we will see this phenomenon again, so we’re really encouraging folks to go out there and observe safely.”
While NASA does encourage you to look at the solar eclipse, the space organisation encourage you to do it safely due to the damage it can cause if you look directly at it.
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On its website, it is warned that viewing any part of the Sun ‘through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter’ placed over the optics will ‘instantly’ cause a severe eye injury.
NASA recommends that you use specific eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer during the partial eclipse phases before and after totality.
The guide reads: “You can view the eclipse directly without proper eye protection only when the Moon completely obscures the Sun’s bright face (You’ll know it’s safe when you can no longer see any part of the Sun through eclipse glasses or a solar viewer).
“As soon as you see even a little bit of the bright Sun reappear after totality, immediately put your eclipse glasses back on or use a handheld solar viewer to look at the Sun.”
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