Sky-watchers, prepare to be delighted. This weekend, a solar eclipse will be visible across the entire United States and depending on where you live, you'll get to see a spectacular "ring of fire" in the sky.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, an annular solar eclipse will cross North, Central and South America.
Much more rare than a total solar eclipse (where the Moon completely covers the Sun), an annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon obscures all but an outer ring of the Sun.
Also known as a "ring of fire" eclipse, it occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth at its farthest point away from Earth, according to NASA. Because the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the star. This causes an orange ring of sunlight to surround the Moon, creating the appearance of a ring of fire.
It will be visible in every state, however, what you see during the eclipse will depend on the location you're viewing from. You need a clear view of the Sun and Moon to see the eclipse. Even with cloud cover, NASA said the eerie daytime darkness associated with eclipses will still be noticeable.
To see the ring of fire effect, you must view it from somewhere along the narrow "path of annularity," from the coast of Oregon to the Texas Gulf Coast. Lasting for up to 5 minutes depending on your vantage point, this is the part of the eclipse that people are most excited for. NASA said the ring of fire will be visible in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas, as well as some parts of California, Idaho, Colorado and Arizona.
Outside the path of annularity, people across the U.S., Puerto Rico and parts of Alaska and Hawaii will have the chance to see a partial solar eclipse, when the Moon covers part of the Sun without creating the ring of fire effect, NASA said.
NASA says the partial eclipse will begin just after 8 a.m. PDT on the West coast; the ring of fire will begin to form around 9:15 a.m. PDT, peak at 9:18 and begin to end at 9:20; the partial eclipse will end around 10:40 a.m. PDT.
Because the Sun is never completely covered during the eclipse, all sky-watchers on Oct. 14 will need to use special eye protection or an indirect viewing method to safely view the spectacle.
NASA recommends using solar viewing glasses ("eclipse glasses") or a handheld solar viewer, both of which are thousands of times darker than regular sunglasses. You can also use an indirect viewing method such as a pinhole projector, which has a small opening and projects an image of the Sun onto a nearby surface.
If you aren't able to see the eclipse or want to check out the ring of fire up close, NASA is hosting a livestream of the event with views across the path, expert commentary, live demos and more, beginning at 11:30 EDT on Oct. 14.
We won't see another annular solar eclipse like this until February 2046. The next solar eclipse visible in the U.S. will be a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.