If you want to see an annular eclipse of the sun in North America, your next golden opportunity is on Saturday, October 14, 2023, when the path of a solar eclipse is forecast to cross from Oregon over much of the southwestern United States and into Mexico and Central America…
Annular Solar Eclipse in North America: October 14, 2023
…and, of course, keep your eye out for airfare deals, hotel deals and rental car deals, as searching for them can never be too early. Hotel rooms with reasonable room rates are still available in places such as San Antonio; but hotel properties in Elko, Albuquerque, and other areas are already sold out. Be prepared to do a lot of driving.
Interactive Maps
If you want to specifically know where to go to best view a total eclipse of the sun, the official annular solar eclipse Internet web site of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States — which is more popularly known as NASA — has a map.
Here is a video pertaining to what is an annular solar eclipse.
Using Google Maps as the engine and created by Xavier M. Jubier, this interactive map of the annular solar eclipse is an excellent way for you to pinpoint the precise location of where to maximize your viewing of the total eclipse of the sun — as well as gather other information about the eclipse in any location with one single click.
There is even a spot on the map in the form of a black dot in the center of the path of totality over the Caribbean Sea just east of the coast of southern Nicaragua that shows the precise location of where you can view the longest duration of the total solar eclipse…
ASE 2023 General Circumstances:
- Type: Annular
- Date: 2023 October 14
- Time: 17:59:31.4 UT
- Magnitude: 0.95203
- Gamma: 0.37534
- Saros: 134
- Max. Duration: 05m17s
- ΔT: 69.1s — σ = ±4s [±0.0°]
Bonus: How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse
When you have pinned down the location as to where you want to photograph the solar eclipse, how do you take pictures of it?
“We asked two veteran photographers to share their top tips for documenting the biggest astronomical event America has seen in years”, according to this article written by
If you are unsure as to the best ways of photographing the solar eclipse, information in the aforementioned article includes researching the best locations; bringing the right equipment; getting creative with your photography — and even using your smartphone or other portable electronic device if you do not have the proper equipment.
Final Boarding Call
Start planning your travel as soon as possible if you are interested in seeing an annular eclipse of the sun in the United States on Saturday, October 14, 2023, as lodging will be more difficult to reserve.
Ensure that you are equipped with the proper glasses or filters for viewing it — and check the weather to ensure that viewing conditions are as close to optimal as possible.
I have never seen an annular solar eclipse; but it looks like a ring of fire around the moon rather than the moon completely blocking the sun, as with a total solar eclipse. The ring of fire effect occurs because the moon is at its farthest point in its orbit from Earth; so it cannot completely block the sun.
Please refer to the following articles pertaining to the total solar eclipses which I experienced in the United States on Monday, August 21, 2017 and in Chile on Tuesday, July 2, 2019:
- Nothing I Can Do, A Total Eclipse of the Sun
- Total Solar Eclipse: Two Useful Tools to Know Where to Go
- Everything You Do Not Want to Know About Trying to View a Total Solar Eclipse
- Photographs of the Total Eclipse of the Sun
- Chasing Another Total Solar Eclipse 2019
- The Total Eclipse of the Sun Chile July 2019: A Poor Video of a Great Celestial Event
All photographs ©2017 and ©2019 by Brian Cohen.
