The last time residents of the United States could see the moon hollow out the sun, leaving a blazing orb on its fringes, was in May 2012.
If you miss this one, the next annular eclipse visible in the United States won’t be until 2039, when one passes through Alaska. Within the Lower 48 states, the next one won’t happen until 2046, and only a sliver of southern Oregon, northern California, extreme northwest Nevada and southwest Idaho will get to see it.
This eclipse is an appetizer for the showstopping total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, that will sweep from Texas to Maine. For upward of four minutes, the moon will completely cover the sun, leaving a phantom-like aura hanging in the sky. On that day, skywatchers will experience a glimpse of night during the day. Total solar eclipses happen over a given location only once every 375 years on average.
Out of the entire universe, that we know of, Earth is the only place that has total solar and annular eclipses, said NASA ambassador Tony Rice.
“It’s a really great opportunity to get a feeling for your place in the solar system — especially when you see the difference between the annular eclipse in October and the total eclipse in April — because it shows the moon’s varying distance,” Rice said.
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