On October 2nd, the annual Ring of Fire solar eclipse will make its way across the Pacific Ocean and into Chile and Argentina.
Those in Argentina, Chile, and the remote Easter Island will be able to witness the eclipse in its full glory. Meanwhile, those in Hawaii, American Samoa, Brazil, Fiji, French Polynesia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Pitcairn Islands, Kiribati, Tonga, Uruguay, South Georgia, and the Falkland Islands, among other places, will be able to see a crescent partial eclipse.
What is a ring of fire eclipse?
Unlike the total solar eclipse that passed through North America in April, this won’t block out the sun completely. Instead, the moon passes before the sun when it is slightly farther away from the Earth. This distance from the Earth allows people to see the sun as a ring around the moon’s appearance in the eclipse, hence the ring of fire.
This type of eclipse also happens more frequently than a total eclipse. A ring of fire eclipse happens every year or sometimes every two years. It is usually visible for about eight minutes, the same amount of time as a total eclipse.
Even though it is not a total eclipse, it is still unsafe to look at it directly. Looking at an eclipse could damage one’s eyes. The only way to look at a ring of fire eclipse is to use special glasses.
The eclipse’s path
According to Time and Date, the full eclipse will be visible starting at 4:50 pm UTC and ending at 8:39 pm UTC.
According to EarthSky, the eclipse path will start 1,056 miles southwest of Hawaii and continue moving southwest. The eclipse will peak for about seven minutes at 6:45 pm UTC.
The first location where the eclipse will be visible to people on land will be Easter Island. The island with the mysterious stone heads will be able to see the ring of fire for 6 minutes and 23 seconds, starting at 7:07 pm UTC.
After it leaves Easter Island, the eclipse will be visible on Chile’s Patagonian coast. It will be visible in Chile starting at 8:22 pm UTC and then over the Andes, Argentina, and the Atlantic coast of South America at 8:27 pm UTC.
Finally, the eclipse will be partially visible from the Falkland Islands and South Georgia starting at 8:36 p.m. UTC.
What is the next lunar event?
On October 17th, the hunter’s moon will be visible. This supermoon will be the biggest of the year, as the moon’s proximity to the Earth will be about 220,000 miles away. After that, the beaver and cold moon will occur in November and December.
