Thankfully, 2023 not only sees the return of totality, but also a rare 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse visible in North America. Firstly, on April 20, 2023, comes a total solar eclipse, but this one has a twist. In a rare, cosmic alignment of the Earth, moon and sun, this event will be a hybrid affair, the first such solar eclipse since 2013 and the last one until 2031. Secondly, on October 14, 2023, comes an annular solar eclipse in which a smaller-than-average new moon moves across, but fails to block completely, the sun to cause a 'ring of fire'. The unusual effect will last at most five minutes 17 seconds, but it's the visibility of this eclipse that is most notable — seven states in the U.S. southwest will be in the path of annularity.
Here's what you need to know about both of 2023's solar eclipses and what's so special about them:
On April 20, 2023, a New Moon will eclipse the sun, but it will stumble. Slightly too far away from Earth on its elliptical orbit to fully cover all of the sun, the moon will for short time fail to cause a total solar eclipse. For a few seconds, a ring of fire will be visible from the Indian Ocean. However, by the time the moonshadow reaches the Western Australian town of Exmouth, the moon's disk will completely cover the sun to cause a total solar eclipse, albeit a short one. In fact, the 20,000 people eclipse chasers, expected in Exmouth — and those in cruise ships in the Indian Ocean — will experience around one minute of darkness in the day. Even at the point of greatest eclipse, just off the coast of Timor-Leste, only 76 seconds of totality will occur.