A 'ring of fire' solar eclipse is happening in the US this weekend but if you miss it there's another one in 2024. This NASA map shows where and when to spot both.

Morgan McFall-Johnsen
·5 min read
22

A "ring of fire" solar eclipse is occurring over the western United States, from Oregon to Texas, on October 14.

Image of a diamond ring during a total solar eclipse.
Solar eclipses are rare and stunning events.kdshutterman / Getty Images

If you're in the eastern half of the country, don't fret. You'll be treated to a total solar eclipse in April 2024.

Two women in red shirts wearing square eclipse glasses look up in the sunlight.
NASA employees use protective glasses to view a partial solar eclipse.NASA/Connie Moore

NASA released a detailed map showing the paths of those two eclipses. Let's walk through the best US locations for watching them.

Map shows two belts representing paths of solar eclipses crossing the US.
A map showing where the moon’s shadow will cross the US during the 2023 annular solar eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse.NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

We'll start with October 14, 2023, when the moon will pass in front of the sun while it's at its farthest point from Earth.

stages of a solar eclipse show the moon slowly passing in front of the sun to totally cover it in shadow
The moon moves in front of the sun for a solar eclipse.Reuters

Since the moon appears smaller, it won't completely cover the sun. It will leave a "ring of fire" around its shadow. This is called an annular solar eclipse.

annular solar eclipse where dark circle of the moon's shadow covers the center of the sun with a ring of solar plasma peeking out around it
An annular solar eclipse as seen by Japan's Hinode spacecraft.JAXA/NASA/Hinode via Getty Images

From Portland, Seattle, or the San Francisco Bay Area, your closest option is Eugene or Klamath Falls in Oregon. Inside the oval, the eclipse occurs at the noted time.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows eclipse shadow running through southwestern Oregon, northern Nevada, and the northeastern tip of California in October 2023
The eclipse appears first in southwestern Oregon at 9:20 a.m. Pacific Time.NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

The lines on the NASA map indicate how long the eclipse will last. The outermost lines along the path show where the eclipse will last a minute or two. On the innermost lines it will last 4 1/2 minutes.

lines running down the eclipse's path in nasa map read 3 min to 4.5 min
The lines on the map indicate how long the eclipse will last in different places.NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Purple and yellow lines cutting across the map also show where you can see a partial eclipse outside the paths of the moon's full shadow.

Download a high-resolution version of the map to follow those lines on NASA's website.

If you want a desert eclipse experience, the "path of annularity" passes right through northeastern Nevada and southern Utah.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows eclipse shadow running through northern Nevada and Utah in October 2023
The eclipse will appear in northeastern Nevada at 9:25 a.m. Pacific Time.NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

In Santa Fe or Albuquerque? You're in luck! The eclipse will pass right over you, as well as the UFO-famous Roswell, New Mexico.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows eclipse shadow running diagonally through New Mexico from the northwest corner to the southeast corner in October 2023
The eclipse will appear in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 10:35 a.m. Mountain Time.NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

San Antonio might be the luckiest city of all. The annular eclipse will last four minutes there. The following year, residents can drive just to the northwest to see the total eclipse.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows 2023 eclipse shadow running through Texas from northwest to southeast and 2024 total solar eclipse shadow running from southwest to northeast with the two eclipse paths meeting near San Antonio
The eclipse will appear in San Antonio at 11:55 a.m. Central Time.NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

In that total solar eclipse, on April 8, 2024, the moon will be close enough to Earth to completely block out the sun in a brief moment of "totality."

total solar eclipse shows dark circle of moon's shadow with purple ring around it where the sun is hiding
Miloslav Druckmüller/NASA

That eclipse will be visible only to a large swath of the US and parts of Mexico and Canada.

globe with intersecting purple and yellow lines showing where two eclipses will move over the americas

It will be the last total solar eclipse to be visible from the contiguous US until 2044. The eclipse will begin near San Antonio and then move to Austin and Dallas.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows eclipse shadow running through Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas, Texas, in October 2023
The total solar eclipse will appear in Dallas at 1:45 p.m. Central Time.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

Then the eclipse will cast its shadow over Arkansas and southeastern Missouri.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows eclipse shadow running through Arkansas west to northeast, then the southeastern tip of Missouri, then southern Illinois in October 2023
The eclipse will appear in Little Rock, Arkansas, at about 1:50 p.m. Central Time.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

The rest of the Midwest can flock to southern Illinois, Indianapolis, or Cleveland to get into the path of totality.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows eclipse shadow running through southern Illinois, central Indiana, and northern Ohio in October 2023
The eclipse will appear in Indianapolis just before 3:10 p.m. Eastern Time and then in Cleveland at 3:15 p.m. ET.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

Much of the northeast can get its eclipse fix by driving to upstate New York.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows eclipse shadow over northern New York state and Lake Ontario in October 2023
The eclipse will appear in Buffalo, New York, at 3:20 p.m. Eastern Time.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

Everyone's last chance to see a total solar eclipse in the US for another 20 years will be late afternoon in northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

zoomed shot of nasa map shows eclipse shadow over northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine into New Brunswick in October 2023
The eclipse will move through Maine and exit the US by 3:35 p.m. Eastern Time.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

No matter where you are or which eclipse you're watching, don't forget to protect your eyes. Happy viewing!

seven children wearing solar eclipse glasses look up at the sky
Children using special glasses to look into the sky during a partial solar eclipse outside the Planetario in Madrid.Getty Images

Correction: April 5, 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated where people would be able to see both the annular eclipse and the total eclipse. It's San Antonio, Texas, not San Antonio, New Mexico.

This story has been updated. It was originally published on April 5, 2023.

Read the original article on Business Insider