鈥淭his is a different flavor of eclipse,鈥� said Scott Fisher, an astronomy lecturer at the University of Oregon.
Fisher has never seen an annular eclipse before鈥攂ut he certainly can describe it.
鈥淚n this case, the moon is going to go in front of the sun, just like it did in 2017. But this time, the moon is a little farther away from the earth so it鈥檚 a little smaller in the sky. So, it will not cover the entire disc of the sun鈥攖here鈥檚 going to be a little ring of the sun still visible.鈥�
That 鈥渞ing of fire鈥� is called an annulus. Fisher said Eugene is nearly smack in the center of the 鈥減ath of annularity,鈥� which will sweep across southwestern Oregon. The two-and-a-half-hour eclipse event begins at 8:06 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 14.
Fisher said because the sun is never completely blocked by the moon, it鈥檚 important to wear eclipse glasses during the entire eclipse event.
Eager viewers should check for early morning fog on the day of the eclipse. If it is foggy, Fisher said 鈥渉ead for the hills鈥� to get a clear view of the eastern horizon.
Fisher noted at least once a year somewhere on earth, an annular eclipse occurs. To see the exact path of annularity of the October 2023 event, check out this created by French eclipse expert Xavier Jubier.
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