Annular Solar Eclipse 2024: 1 month left, more details
Science: The annular solar eclipse 2024 is just over a month away from being visible in parts of the Pacific Ocean, southern Chile and southern Argentina. On October 2 at 11:42 a.m. EDT (1542 GMT), the moon will begin to occult the sun into a glowing “ring of fire” during the annular solar eclipse 2024. Maximum eclipse will occur at 2:45 p.m. EDT (18:45 GMT). The event will only be visible to those looking from within the annular path — a 165 to 206 mile (265 to 331 kilometer) wide path where the moon will cover about 93% of the sun’s disk. About 175,000 people live within the annular path, according to Time & Date. Those outside the path of the annular solar eclipse will experience a partial solar eclipse, in which the moon appears to ‘bite’ the sun. For those who want to watch everything live online, we’ll be hosting a livestream of the event on Space.com, details of which will be announced closer to the time. You can stay up to date on all the action with our solar eclipse live blog. All solar eclipses are caused by the new moon, when it lies between Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on Earth. During a total solar eclipse, the moon is so close to Earth that its apparent size is equal to or larger than the sun. It therefore completely blocks the solar disk, plunging observers into darkness for a brief period of time. Annular eclipses occur when the moon is slightly further away from Earth and appears slightly smaller than the sun’s disk. It therefore doesn’t completely eclipse the sun, but does create an iconic “ring of fire” around the moon for a few minutes.
