Here's When And Where To Watch The Rare Ring Of Fire Solar Eclipse Today

The sky over North, Central, and South America will feature a celestial delight later today, as an annular solar eclipse creates a "ring of fire." An annular solar eclipse differs from a total eclipse in that the moon is at the farthest point in its orbital path from Earth, keeping it from being able to completely block the sun.

According to NASA, anyone who wants to garner a glimpse of the upcoming "ring of fire" will need to get special eye protection that meets the ISO 12312-2 standard. Those who are hoping to peep the event even closer with the aid of a camera or telescope will also need special equipment. NASA added, "Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury."

"It is like nothing you've ever experienced before," remarked Mitzi Adams, Assistant Chief of the Heliophysics and Planetary Science Branch at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in a statement. "It's sort of like somebody puts a bowl on top of Earth right above where you're standing. In the middle of the day, it gets darker, but you can still see light around the rim."

Those hoping to safely catch a glimpse of this remarkable event will need to be outside with clear skies at around 9:13am PT (12:13pm ET). The event will be viewable across most of North America, and then will cross Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia before finally ending off South America's Atlantic coast at Natal, Brazil.

For those in places like Alaska, there will be a crescent-shaped partial solar eclipse, where only part of the sun is covered by the moon. If anyone wants to know specific times for their area, they can check TimeandDate.com.

NASA will also be hosting a live stream of the "ring of fire" event for those who are unable to view it from their location starting at 11:30am ET today, sharing views of the eclipse from Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kerrville, Texas; and White Sands, New Mexico.

**Update 1:54pm EST 10/14/2023: Live image of the "ring of fire" solar eclipse from NASA.