An annular solar eclipse visits Utah. If you are inside the path of annular solar eclipse, you will see the dramatic sight of the Sun as a thin ring, almost but not completely eclipsed by the Moon. Daylight will be dimmed considerably, but not dark like a total solar eclipse. This eerie sight can be enjoyed with eclipse glasses and other safe viewing methods.
The annular solar eclipse begins in Utah at 10:24 am MDT with the speed of the Moon’s shadow being 3897 mph. The annular solar eclipse leaves Utah at 10:35 am MDT and the Moon’s shadow diminishes to 2643 mph. The maximum duration of annularity in Utah is 4 minutes and 40 seconds.s
About the Annular Solar Eclipse
During an annular solar eclipse, the apparent size of the Moon’s disk is slightly smaller than the apparent size of the Sun’s disk. Therefore, only the outer edge of the Sun remains visible and the Sun appears as a brilliant ring if you are inside the path of an annular solar eclipse. This is an otherworldly sight often called a “ring of fire”. Here are instructions for the safely viewing solar eclipses by the American Astronomical Society and endorsed by several professional societies. TIMELINE OF THE OCTOBER 14, 2023 ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE. LEARN MORE AT WWW. GREATAMERICANECLIPSE.COM/OCTOBER-14-2023
How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon blocks any part of the Sun’s bright face. On Saturday, October 14, 2023, a solar eclipse will be visible (weather permitting) in North, Central, and South America. All 49 continental U.S. states will experience at least a partial eclipse, as will most of Canada and all countries in Central and South America. During a partial or annular (ring) solar eclipse, such as the one on October 14, 2023, there is no time when it is safe to look directly at the Sun without using a special-purpose solar filter that complies with the transmittance requirements of the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
What causes a solar eclipse?
understand about solar eclipses is that they occur because of a remarkable
cosmic coincidence: the Sun is about the same apparent size in our sky as the Moon. While the Sun is actually about 400 times larger in diameter than the
Moon, the Moon is also about 400 times closer than the Sun. Therefore, the Sun and the Moon appear to be about the same size in our sky.
This single fact explains why we see total solar eclipses – the Moon has an apparent size that just barely covers the Sun completely, yet is not too large that the Sun’s atmosphere, its corona, is eclipsed as well. We on Earth occupy a celestial sweet spot to witness this sight. We are the beneficiaries of a wonderful cosmic coincidence, lined up like a cosmic billiard shot. It was not always so. When the Moon first formed around our Earth over 4 billion years ago, it was much closer to the Earth and appeared much larger in our sky. So total solar eclipses in the early epochs of our Earth did block the Sun but also most of the corona. Over the eons, the Moon has been gradually receding from the Earth due to the friction from the tides. At present, the distance from the Earth to the Moon increases by about an inch per year. In some distant future epoch, the Moon’s disk will become smaller such that no more total solar eclipses will be visible from Earth.
What are the types of solar eclipses?
While the Moon and Sun have nearly the same apparent size in the sky, their apparent sizes do vary slightly because of two factors; the Moon is in a slightly elliptical orbit around the Earth and the Earth also revolves in a slightly elliptical orbit around the Sun. These variations result in the circumstance that sometimes the Moon’s disk does not completely cover the Sun’s disk during eclipse. These are annular solar eclipses and a prominent example of this eclipse type occurred in the United States on May 20, 2012.
The next annular solar eclipse in the United States will be on October 14, 2023.
While an annular eclipse is a striking sight, it does not command the same overwhelming sense of wonder that a total solar eclipse does. Daytime is dimmer but not twilight. Because some of the Sun’s disk is still visible, it is much too bright for the Sun’s corona to become visible. It is never safe to look directly at an annular solar eclipse, even at its maximum phase. Always use certified safe solar eclipse glasses. If the Moon’s shadow is not centered on the Earth, then another common type of solar eclipse occurs, the partial solar eclipse. During a partial solar eclipse, the umbra misses the Earth, and from everywhere the eclipse is visible, you will only see part of the Sun eclipsed. Again, at no time during a partial solar eclipse should you look directly at the Sun without certified safe eclipse glasses, solar filtered viewer like our sunoculars or a pinhole projection.
