During the 2023 annular solar eclipse, the moon passed between the sun and Earth, darkening skies across the United States with its shadow. On October 14, 2023, the moon aligned with the sun and earth, resulting in an annular solar eclipse. Because the moon blocks the sun's rays, millions of Americans are bathed in its shadow.
Stunning images of the moon's shadow cast on Earth during the annular lunar eclipse on October 14, 2023. This image was taken by the EPIC camera onboard NASA's Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite at Lagrange Point 1.
During an annular solar eclipse, the moon passes in front of the sun, but is too far away from the Earth to completely block the sun. During an annular lunar eclipse, the moon is at or near its furthest distance from Earth -- called apogee -- making it appear smaller in the sky. This exposes an orange-red ring around the edge of the sun, known as the "Ring of Fire." A satellite captured the event from Earth as the moon's shadow passed across North America.
Two shadows are cast during a lunar eclipse. The first is called the umbrah. This shadow gets smaller the further away from the sun it is. It is the dark center of the eclipse shadow. The second shadow is called the penumbra (peNUMbruh). The penumbra becomes larger the farther away from the sun it is. Image source: NASA
The image above was acquired during a solar eclipse by NASA's EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) imager on DSCVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory), a joint NASA, NOAA, and U.S. Air Force satellite. The sensor frequently provides a global view of the Earth from its position at Lagrangian Point 1, a gravitational stable point between the Sun and the Earth about 1.5 million kilometers away. In this photo taken at 16:58 UTC (11:58 AM CDT), the Moon's shadow, or umbral shadow, can be seen crossing the southeastern coast of Texas, settling near Corpus Christi.
The annular eclipse path and partial eclipse contours across the United States for the 2023 annular solar eclipse that will occur on October 14, 2023. Source: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
While a partial annular eclipse will be visible throughout the United States, Mexico, and countries in Central and South America, from an observer's perspective, the path of the annular eclipse -- the largest area of the Sun covered by the moon -- is the best place to view it.
The image above, created by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, shows the circumlunar dark path in the lower 48 states, from Oregon to Texas. The map uses data sets from multiple NASA missions. Images from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instruments on the Terra and Aqua satellites are the source of the next generation of Blue Marble composite images used to characterize the terrain.
The annular eclipse path began in Oregon around 9:13 a.m. PDT, but cloudy skies blocked the view for some skywatchers. The sun's shadow then moves southeast across Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, before passing over Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.
Duration contours within the path can also be seen on the map. These contours describe the length of time the annular prominence lasts. The closer you are to the center of the eclipse's path, the longer it will last. The duration of the annular eclipse path ranges from a few seconds at the outer edges to a maximum of about 4.5 minutes in the center.
The next annular solar eclipse visible from the United States will occur on June 21, 2039. But on Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will appear in skies from Texas to Maine.