Northern Arizonans have a chance to see an annular solar eclipse this Saturday morning, with the sun eighty to ninety percent covered by the moon. The best views will be at Four Corners, where the moon will obscure the sun almost entirely, leaving only a bright fiery ring. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with Lowell Observatory astronomer Teddy Kareta about how to safely watch this rare celestial event.
I guess to start, tell me what exactly is an annular solar eclipse?
I think when people picture eclipses, they think the sky goes completely dark, the sun completely disappears, but this is only true for total solar eclipses. For annular solar eclipses, the moon blocks out the central portion of the solar disk. So you’ll see a faint little ring of the sun, basically where the moon hasn’t blocked it out. It doesn’t get quite as dark and it looks quite different than a regular solar eclipse, so even though it’s still quite beautiful, it’s a very different kind of experience.
Right, and they call that the ‘ring of fire,’ the ring that goes around the moon blocking the sun.
Right. If you’re interested in astrophotography or taking pictures of the night sky in general, getting a really good picture of the ring of fire is kind of bragging rights. Everyone wants to do it, because it can be so striking and each one can look so beautiful.
So if you, on this upcoming eclipse, want to see that ring of fire, where do you have to be standing?
Just like for other kinds of eclipses, there’s a path for which the sun is the most blocked out, and as you get further and further from that central line, procedurally less and less and less of the sun is blocked out. If you’re living in Northern Arizona you have the good luck that if you drive to the Four Corners, you’re going to see the sun perfectly blocked out in this way, so you’ll see the ring of fire. Even here in Flagstaff, we’ll see the sun something like 85 percent blocked.
So for those of us outside of this path, we’ll still see something really cool, we’ll see a partial solar eclipse.
Yes, exactly. So if you’re wearing the glasses and go look at the sun, you’re going to see the moon taking a bite out of the sun, and it will be really obvious to you. Even if you don’t have the ability to travel to see the perfect annularity, I still really encourage you to get out your glasses and take a look. It’s special. This doesn’t happen so often. And it’s rare that so many people, in this case the majority of the United States, is going to be able to see something like this from their backyard.
The path of this eclipse is going right through the Navajo Nation, so I want to acknowledge that for Navajos this is a time of prayer and ceremony, and many of them will stay indoors. Some of the monuments on the Navajo Nation are actually closed during this eclipse.
For those of us who do want to go out and look at it, what are the things we need to know?
The primary thing I would tell you to do, is one, you should be looking up when to go. The peak time of annularity at least here in Northern Arizona is about 9:30am in the morning on Saturday. The second thing I would encourage you [to do] is please make sure you have the protective eyewear secured ahead of time. Just because the sun is going to get blocked out does not mean it is safe to look at the sun with your naked eyes here. You still have to be careful. Especially, make sure if you’re going with kids, the kids also know to wear their glasses.
And if some reason you do miss this one, there is another chance to see a solar eclipse coming up in April. Can you tell us a little bit about that one?
Yes. Next year, April 2024, there is a total solar eclipse, trending from Mexican border with Texas all the way through Niagara Falls and into southern Canada. This is a complete solar eclipse, meaning the sun will blocked out by the moon. I would really encourage you, if you’re not going to go to this one, you should make plans for next year. And if you’re going to go to this one, you should make plans for next year!
As an astronomer, what’s your favorite part of a solar eclipse?
I’ve seen one solar eclipse in person, I was on a mountaintop in Wyoming, it was freezing cold in August. The thing that was the most important for me, is you can feel everything around you change. The birds chirp differently and then stop. You can feel the weather change. This is one top of the fact that you’re seeing something so beautiful, so intense, that your capacity for language fails you. People talk about solar eclipses not in terms of what they saw, but they talk about it in terms of what they felt. When scientists stop talking about facts, and start talking about feelings and sensations, you can tell it’s had a real effect on them.
Teddy Kareta, thank you so much for speaking with me.
Thanks so much.
The eclipse begins around 8 am. and ends at 11am Mountain Standard Time. Navajo Nation tribal parks will be closed during the celestial event, including Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Four Corners Navajo Tribal Park, and parts of Canyon de Chelly National Monument.
Find maps of the eclipse path here: https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/october-14-2023
