--- title: How to See This Year's Rare 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse description: On Saturday Oct. 14, people across the Pacific Northwest and Southwestern U.S. will be treated to a rare celestial spectacle. canonical: https://time.com/6323188/how-to-see-ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse/ author: Solcyré Burga article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-10-13T11:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:32.381Z article:section: Science og:title: How to See This Year's Rare 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse og:description: This is the last annular “ring of fire” solar eclipse that will be visible in the U.S. until 2039. og:url: https://time.com/6323188/how-to-see-ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e19f94f088d8ff8/698a41354ee262ed6f31bd26/ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-INDIA-ASTRONOMY-SOLAR-ECLIPSE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to See This Year's Rare 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse twitter:description: This is the last annular “ring of fire” solar eclipse that will be visible in the U.S. until 2039. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e19f94f088d8ff8/698a41354ee262ed6f31bd26/ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # How to See This Year's Rare 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: What Is An Annular Solar Eclipse? [Watch (HLS stream): What Is An Annular Solar Eclipse?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sjwU847L.m3u8) (4:28)  _Published 2023-10-13. The 2023 eclipse is an annular solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon is farthest away from the Earth. A “ring of fire” will be created in the sky when the eclipse reaches its peak on Saturday._ Oct 13, 2023 11:00 AM UTC  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Oct 13, 2023 11:00 AM UTC From the Pacific Northwest through the Southwest, people in the U.S. will be able to view a celestial spectacle on Saturday night, when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, obscuring the sun’s light, bringing forth this year’s solar eclipse. The 2023 [eclipse](https://time.com/4897581/total-solar-eclipse-years-next/) is an annular solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon is farthest away from the Earth. That distance means it won’t be a total eclipse because the moon will not block out all of the sun’s light. Instead a “ring of fire” will be created in the sky when the eclipse reaches its peak. The eclipse will be most visible through Southern Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Southwest Texas. Other states may still be able to view some of the eclipse, but only partially, meaning they will only see a crescent shape. The annular solar eclipse starts at 9:13 a.m. PDT on the West coast, [according to NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/where-when/), though a [partial eclipse](https://time.com/4902927/partial-solar-eclipse-definition/) will be visible shortly after 8 a.m. in Eugene, Ore. This is the last annular “ring of fire” solar eclipse that will be visible in the U.S. until 2039, [though Alaskans](https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/) will be the only ones to view that event. ## **Where the eclipse is happening** The solar eclipse will pass diagonally from states as far west as Oregon before moving south down through Texas. Big cities like Albuquerque and Santa Fe in New Mexico are within the path to view the full ring of fire. In San Antonio, Texas, residents can expect to [see anywhere from](https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/) three to four-and-a-half minutes of the eclipse. To determine whether a specific location will see the eclipse, NASA has an interactive map showing the path the 2023 eclipse [is taking](https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/where-when/) while also listing times when the astronomical event begins. The eclipse will also be visible to countries south of the U.S., namely Guatemala, Colombia, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Brazil, and northwest Mexico. **Read more:** [_Why Total Solar Eclipses Are So Rare_](https://time.com/4834676/total-solar-eclipse-2017-rare/) Residents in the Northeast and Midwestern U.S. will have a better chance at seeing the eclipse next year, when a total solar eclipse occurs in April 2024\. A total solar eclipse differs from this weekend’s event because the moon will be much closer to the Earth, [entirely obscuring](https://www.weather.gov/fsd/suneclipse) the sun. ## **How to watch the eclipse safely** Because the annular solar eclipse never fully blocks sunlight, experts warn people that they must wear specialized eye protection when viewing this phenomenon. The use of binoculars, a camera lens, or a telescope that does not have a “special-purpose” solar filter will [cause serious eye damage](https://time.com/4890397/solar-eclipse-damage-eyes-protect/), NASA [warns](https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/safety/). Sunglasses are also ill-equipped to adequately protect people’s eyes. Instead, spectators should opt for eclipse glasses, also known as solar viewing glasses, or solar viewing cards. Your eclipse glasses should meet the ISO 12312-2:2015 safety standard. There is no way for everyday people to verify this on their own without the use of a spectrophotometer, so experts suggest that people make sure that they purchase their [product from a](https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/iso-certification) reputable manufacturer or an authorized distributor. Online sites like Amazon and eBay are not currently on the list of [verifiable vendors](https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters). Those who do not have special lenses can use the indirect viewing method, which means viewers do not look directly at the sun and instead use a pinhole projector. Instructions for how to make your own projector are on the NASA [site](https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/safety/). Experts also recommend that spectators wear sunscreen and protective clothing while viewing an eclipse because they will likely be exposed to the sun for an extended period of time. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6323188/how-to-see-ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6323188/how-to-see-ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse/"},"headline":"How to See This Year's Rare 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse","datePublished":"2023-10-13T11:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:03:32.381Z","description":"On Saturday Oct. 14, people across the Pacific Northwest and Southwestern U.S. will be treated to a rare celestial spectacle.","url":"https://time.com/6323188/how-to-see-ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse/","keywords":["Space","healthscienceclimate","General Assignment"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Solcyré Burga","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6323188/how-to-see-ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse/","name":"How to See This Year's Rare 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch the 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse Light Up the Sky","description":"From the Pacific Northwest through the Southwest, people were able to view a celestial spectacle on Saturday night, when the moon passed between the sun and Earth, obscuring the sun’s light, bringing forth this year’s solar eclipse.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/UiEYgcy2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-10-16T17:35:19.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UiEYgcy2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6323188/how-to-see-ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6323188/how-to-see-ring-of-fire-annular-solar-eclipse/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What Is An Annular Solar Eclipse?","description":"The 2023 eclipse is an annular solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon is farthest away from the Earth. 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