Maine, New Hampshire Will See Rare “Ring of Fire” Solar Eclipse Next Week
It was only two weeks ago that we were blessed with being able to see the Super Blood Flower Moon (which honestly sounds like some kind of power-up in a Super Mario Bros game), and we're already being blessed with another eclipse next week -- but this one is on the other end of the astronomical spectrum.
According to USA Today, next Thursday, June 10, the very rare "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse will be viewable in North America.
What is an annular solar eclipse?
Britannica.com defines an annular solar eclipse as occurring when "the Moon obscures all but an outer ring of the Sun." And since the sun is seen to us as a glowing ball of yellowish-orange, that remaining out of ring looks a bit like fire, hence the "ring of fire" term being used hand-in-hand with annular eclipses.
While there was a total solar eclipse (defined by Britannica.com as when "the Moon completely covers the Sun) this past December seen only in parts of South America, southwest Africa, and Antarctica, the last annular/"ring of fire" solar eclipse happened back in December 2019. It was really only visible to countries in Asia, though.
Now, while it's awesome that this is happening, it's looking like USA Today is reporting that the odds of seeing the full-on "ring of fire" solar eclipse are slim-to-none, and we may just be left with a partial solar eclipse instead. Still awesome, but it's no ring of fire. Regardless of whether we somehow end up seeing the "ring of fire" version or the partial version, eclipse glasses are always needed to prevent the threat of blindness from looking at it directly.
The eclipse should last about one hour and 40 minutes and be visible just after sunrise, with the best places to view it being in wide-open areas with no tall buildings or trees that could obstruct the view (so, think beaches).
Will you rise and shine early to try and see the partial solar eclipse next Thursday, and try to will the sight of the "ring of fire" solar eclipse to life from our view? Or could you not careless?