On Saturday October 14, 2023 a Solar eclipse will be visible for people in the United States. On this date people were able to view the last annular eclipse. Most notably, this is the last eclipse visible until June 21, 2039, and the only state that will be in the path of the next eclipse will only be Alaska. 

The annular solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the sun and earth while the moon is at the farthest point from earth. When this happens the moon almost covers the sun completely and this is why it is called the “Ring Of Fire”. 

The eclipse will be visible when it crosses North, Central and South America, and almost everyone in the Americas will see part of the eclipse. The entire eclipse will be visible to those who are on the path from Oregon to Texas. The eclipse will begin in Oregon at 9:13 and it will end in Texas at 12:03. The solar eclipse will be most visible in the western hemisphere. 

When looking at the eclipse, you should not look at the sun directly, even though the moon is blocking the path. Even if you look at a sliver of the sun it can still permanently scorch retinas. To prevent this from happening to your eyes you need to have specialized eye protection. 

There are many more things that you will be able to see this month. On October 23 you will be able to see the moon just under Saturn an hour or two after the sun has set that night towards the south. On October 28 will be the return of a full moon, and it is called “Hunter’s moon” and the moon will be close to Jupiter.