If you were in California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, or Utah this weekend, there’s a chance you were able to witness a remarkable sight in the sky! That’s because there was an annular eclipse — this happens when the Moon is particularly far away from the Earth. When the Moon covered the Sun, just enough of this glowing giant peaked out from behind so that it looked as though there was a ring of fire surrounding the Moon.
Weren’t able to catch this phenomenal event? No worries! Lots of folks not only gathered together to appreciate the beauty of the Moon, but they also made sure to capture it on camera. In fact, you can find lots of gorgeous photos on social media. Here are six of my favorites for you to admire right now — no eclipse glasses required!
1. Cloudy skies threatened to block the view in some spots, but it seems that everything worked out perfectly!
The time has come: Rare ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse set to darken skies.
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 14, 2023
The eclipse will be most visible through Southern Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Southwest Texas in US
The annular solar eclipse starts at 9:13 a.m. PDT (12:13 ET) in the United States pic.twitter.com/VBT9P9My9R
2. In fact, the clouds made this photo even better!
Annular solar eclipse from Oregon [by rasonjo]
— Astrophotography rocks ! (@AstrophotoRocks) October 16, 2023
#astronomy #astrophotography pic.twitter.com/jrzDXRXuCz
3. This is such a brilliant way to show the progression of the annular eclipse!
Photo I made from the annular solar eclipse [by aden12nd2]
— Astrophotography rocks ! (@AstrophotoRocks) October 16, 2023
#astrophotography #astronomy pic.twitter.com/hNvLTMXLr9
4. Wow, it almost doesn’t look real!
Thousands of people across the Americas gazed at the heavens on Saturday to witness a rare phenomenon known as an annular solar eclipse, when the moon passes in front of the sun, momentarily producing the appearance of a "ring of fire" in the sky. https://t.co/veBaCzUIib pic.twitter.com/lwcahgHUAf
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) October 16, 2023
5. This most certainly wasn’t the ring of fire that Johnny Cash sang about, but the lyrics do feel fitting for this moment!
🔥🎵“I fell into a burning ring of fire!” 🎵🔥Was anyone able to catch a glimpse of the annular solar eclipse this weekend? This eclipse is commonly referred to as the “Ring of Fire” due to the iconic shape the sun takes as the full moon partially blocks it from view. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/IrYldq3FAn
— The Ontario Planetarium (@ONPlanetarium) October 16, 2023
6. I can’t get enough of these photos!
Annular solar eclipse in Utah. From u/ulfirefighter pic.twitter.com/D2Vcz0xOEq
— r/astrophotography (@rAstroPhoto) October 16, 2023
No matter if you viewed the annular eclipse in person or only through photos, what an awesome event to experience! The world we live in is such a vast, beautiful place, and special moments like this serve as a reminder of that.
You can find the sources of this story’s featured image here and here!
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