Californians will have a great chance to view the annular solar eclipse, aka the “ring of fire,” when it happens later this month.
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon, while at its farthest point from Earth, passes between our planet and the sun.
The dazzling event causes a dark circle that partially covers the sun but leaves an orange, fiery glow around the shadowed edges of the moon.
This is set to occur on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 9:13 a.m. PDT, and your ability to view the event will depend on the weather and your location.
“To see all phases of an annular eclipse, you must view it from somewhere along the path of annularity,” NASA stated.
The northeasternmost cities in California, such as Tulelake and Alturas, will be directly inside this path.
The majority of California falls into the 80-90% maximum obscuration range, according to a NASA map, so residents and visitors should still enjoy at least a partial view of the eclipse.
Weather will also play a factor in how the eclipse is viewed
“However, even with cloud cover, the eerie daytime darkness associated with eclipses is still noticeable,” NASA stated.
While the Moon will cover most of the Sun, it will never completely darken the star.
Because of this, it will not be safe to look directly at the sun, and eye protection must be worn.
NASA recommends wearing safe solar viewing glasses, described as “eclipse glasses,” or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times.