The annular solar eclipse of 2023 is underway! See the 1st ‘ring of fire’ photos and video

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Update for 3:45 p.m. ET: The annular solar eclipse of 2023 has completed its pass over the United States and moved into parts of Central America and South America. Read our wrap to see amazing photos and videos. 

The first images of the moon passing between the sun and the Earth in a so-called “ring of fire” solar eclipse are coming in and the views are amazing. 

The moon and sun are aligning in what scientists call an “annular solar eclipse,” in which the moon doesn’t completely cover the sun and leaves a brilliant ring of sunlight visible, giving it a “ring of fire” effect. The solar eclipse will be visible to potentially millions of spectators across several U.S. states from Oregon to Texas, before moving on to Mexico and other parts of Central America and South America, ending in Brazil. You can watch it live online at Space.com, courtesy of NASA.

The partial phase of the solar eclipse began over parts of Oregon at 11:03 a.m. EDT (8:03 a.m. PDT/1603 GMT), with the first “ring of fire” expect expected to begin at 12:13 p.m. EDT (9:13 a.m. PDT/1713 GMT). You can see a full timeline of the Oct. 14 solar eclipse here.

More: Live updates of the Oct. 14 solar eclipse
Related: How long will the annular solar eclipse last on Oct. 14?

Space.com Editor Brett Tingley is observing the solar eclipse from Great Basin National Park in Nevada, where clouds initially threatened to ruin the view. 

The “ring of fire” moment of the annular solar eclipse of Oct. 14, 2023 as seen by Space.com Editor Brett Tingley from Great Basin National Park in Nevada. (Image credit: Brett Tingley/Space.com/Future)

A view of the partial phase of the Oct. 14 solar eclipse from Great Basin National Park in Nevada.(Image credit: Future/Brett Tingley)

A view of the partial phase of the Oct. 14 solar eclipse with sunspot from Great Basin National Park in Nevada.(Image credit: Future/Brett Tingley)

A projection of the partial solar eclipse on the ground from A view of the partial phase of the Oct. 14 solar eclipse from Great Basin National Park in Nevada.(Image credit: Future/Brett Tingley)

Space.com’s Brett Tingley with a Unistellar telescope he is using to capture the the Oct. 14 solar eclipse from Great Basin National Park in Nevada.(Image credit: Future/Brett Tingley)

“As the clouds begin to part, the crowds here at Great Basin National Park let out audible sighs of relief as the sun and the moon emerged back into view some 30 minutes after the eclipse began,” Tingley told Space.com from his observing perch arranged by Travel Nevada. He captured stunning views of the partial phase of the eclipse at annularity.

Weather permitting, a partial solar eclipse will be visible across the entire United States, and wide swaths of North America, Central America and South America. But the amazing “ring of fire” effect can only be seen from a slender path of annularity. 

A view of the annularity effect of the annular solar eclipse of Oct. 14, 2023 from Albuquerque, New Mexico in a NASA view.  (Image credit: NASA)

That path of annularity is a 125-mile-wide (200 kilometers) track that make landfall in Oregon at 12:13 p.m. EDT (9:13 a.m. PDT/1713 GMT) and then moves southeast across parts of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Texas. It will then move on to Mexico and pass over parts of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Brazil.

Below is a time chart for the solar eclipse.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

LocationLocal time of ‘ring of fire’Duration of ‘ring of fire’Oregon Dunes, Oregon9:15 a.m. PDT4 minutes, 29 seconds Crater Lake National Park, Oregon9:17 a.m. PDT4 minutes, 19 seconds Great Basin National Park, Nevada9:24 a.m. PDT3 minutes, 46 secondsBryce Canyon National Park, Utah10:27 a.m. MDT2 minutes, 31 seconds Canyonlands National Park, Utah10:29 a.m. MDT2 minutes, 24 secondsMesa Verde National Park, Colorado10:31 a.m. MDT2 minutes, 57 seconds Albuquerque, New Mexico10:34 a.m. MDT4 minutes, 42 seconds Corpus Christi, Texas11:55 a.m. CDT4 minutes, 52 secondsEdzná Maya archaeological site, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico11:23 a.m. CST4 minutes, 32 seconds

#solareclipse in Boise. #Eclipse2023 pic.twitter.com/pvOb4esoUXOctober 14, 2023

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Stockton, California 9:15-9:20 AM #SolarEclipse #CAwx #WxTwitter pic.twitter.com/GefhtE3TrZOctober 14, 2023

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NASA and scientists across the United States, and around the world, are studying the eclipse in immense detail. In New Mexico, NASA is launching a series of sounding rockets and balloon experiment to study the eclipse, and has called on the public to help as part of a citizen science project. 

“It’s a big day for NASA scientists, because eclipses present unique opportunities to study the sun,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a video as part of the agency’s live broadcast. “And what we learn from these eclipses, along with our heliophysics research, has incredible benefits for our human exploration…Without its energy, we couldn’t exist here on Earth. Just think – it influences everything.”

This map shows the paths of the annular “ring of fire” solar eclipse of Oct. 14, 2023 (from Oregon to Texas at left) and the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse from Texas to Maine at right. (Image credit: NASA/Scientific Visualization Studio/Michala Garrison; eclipse calculations by Ernie Wright, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

IMPORTANNT NOTE: REMEMBER to NEVER look directly at the sun. You need to use solar filters to safely view the annular solar eclipse to avoid severe eye damage. Naked-eye observers will need to wear solar eclipse glasses, and if you are using cameras, telescopes or binoculars, they must have protective solar filters placed in front of their lenses at all times. Our how to observe the sun safely guide tells you everything you need to know about safe solar observations.   

Today’s solar eclipse is the last eclipse of the sun of 2023, but also serves as a preview for an even more amazing event: the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. 

If you capture a photo of the annular eclipse and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to [email protected].

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Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com’s Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.

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