Annular solar eclipse casts a shadow over North America - Earth.com

Annular solar eclipse casts a shadow over North America

Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features a fascinating satellite view of the annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023. The photograph reveals the shadow over North America as the Moon blocked out the Sun’s light.

“An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun but is too far from Earth to completely obscure it,” explained NASA.

“The Moon is at or near its farthest distance from Earth – known as its apogee – during an annular eclipse, making it look smaller in the sky. This leaves the Sun’s edges exposed in a red-orange ring, dubbed the ‘ring of fire.'”

The annular path started in Oregon around 9:13 a.m., then moved across Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, before passing over Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.

According to NASA, a total solar eclipse will be visible from Texas to Maine on Monday, April 8, 2024.

The image was captured by NASA’s EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) imager aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory, a joint NASA, NOAA, and U.S. Air Force satellite. 

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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