Annular Eclipse

Update: Unfortunately, the weather is not going to cooperate for partial eclipse viewing tomorrow. Tune into NASA Live for the next best thing!  We will show the live feed in our Universe at Large programs.

We have an awesome celestial event coming up on Saturday, October 14, an annular solar eclipse!  The annular eclipse will be our dress rehearsal for the big event, the total solar eclipse, on Monday, April 8, 2024. 

So, what is the difference between the annular solar eclipse and the total solar eclipse? The Moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical. So sometimes it is a little further from the Earth and other times it is closer. During the October eclipse the Moon will be at its furthest point from Earth and the umbral shadow won’t reach the Earth’s surface. Therefore, the Moon will not cover the Sun completely. Those in the path will see the “Ring of Fire”, which is also a sight to see. The path of annularity will run from Oregon to Texas for this eclipse. 

In Canton, we will see a partial solar eclipse. During the maximum part of the eclipse, we will see about 35% coverage of the Sun. The timeline for the event is: partial eclipse begins at 11:50 am, maximum eclipse at 1:09 pm and the partial eclipse ends at 2:31pm. 

Viewing safely will be the biggest concern. The October eclipse is going to be a great event to practice safe solar viewing. You must wear solar filter glasses to view the Sun. Never look at the Sun directly!! When purchasing solar filter glasses look for the international standard requirement code of ISO 12312-2. Other safe viewing techniques are making an eclipse projector, using a cereal or shoe box, making a pinhole projector or grabbing a kitchen colander. You can purchase glasses in our Gift Shoppe.