A Travel Guide To Following The "Ring Of Fire" Eclipse In October

An annular solar eclipse will cover North, Central, and South America on October 14, 2023. Millions of people in the Western Hemisphere will be able to see the eclipse.

Because the moon appears slightly smaller than the sun during an annular solar eclipse, it cannot block the complete disc. The end product is a stunning "ring of fire."

The Route Of The Eclipse

The Ring of Fire solar eclipse will be visible across North America, Central America, and much of South America on October 14. The spectacle will be a partial solar eclipse with different degrees of obscuration throughout the entire region.

Tracking The Ring Of Fire

The ring of fire solar eclipse will be visible only within the path of annularity, which is 118 to 137 miles (190 to 220 kilometres) wide. This route will take you from Oregon to northern California, northeast Nevada, central Utah, northeast Arizona, southwest Colorado, central New Mexico, and southern Texas. It will then pass over Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil before crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

The point of greatest eclipse will occur off the coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, where people can experience a ring of fire lasting 5 minutes, 17 seconds.

5 Places To See The Ring Of Fire

Only from inside a 125-mile-wide line spanning eight US states—Oregon, northern California, Nevada, Utah, northeastern Arizona, southwestern Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas—will the uncommon sight of a circle of light be visible during the day. It will then be visible from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, as well as Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil.

Nevada

From October 11 to 16, Ely, Nevada will hold the Ring of Fire Eclipse Festival, which will include everything from bar crawls to lectures on Nevada's UFO history.

New Mexico

The Rio Rancho Astronomical Society will conduct an event at the Rainbow Park Observatory in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, replete with telescopes equipped with solar filters for safe viewing of the eclipse. The observatory will be available to the public from 8:30 a.m. MDT, with eclipse glasses for sale.

Oregon

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, located in southern Oregon between Florence and Coos Bay, features vast and bizarre terrain, including one of the world's largest coastal sand dunes. If you want to be as close to the centerline as possible for a perfect 'ring of fire' as low as it gets to the horizon, head to the Oregon Dunes Day Use Area.

California

The decrease in brightness becomes evident when around 50% of the sun is veiled during a solar eclipse. You could notice an increase in activity among the hundreds of species of migrating birds that live at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northern California around 8:30 a.m.

Albuquerque

Head to Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta Park for the hot air balloon event (October 7-15, 2023). Take a balloon trip and view the "ring of fire" for 4 minutes and 43 seconds on the penultimate day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Every year since 1972, up to 600 hot air balloons have been lofted into the sky during the festival.