What to know about October's 'ring of fire' solar eclipse
Millions of people in the Americas will be in a position to witness an astronomical treat on Oct. 14 with a solar eclipse in which - weather permitting - the moon will be seen passing in front of the sun.
The eclipse is due to be visible along a path covering parts of the United States, Mexico and several countries in Central America and South America.
Here is an explanation of the type of solar eclipse that will occur and where it will be visible.
A solar eclipse happens when the moon journeys between Earth and the sun, blocking the view along a small path of Earth of some or all of the sun's face as it passes. The one that will occur on Oct. 14 is a type called an "annular solar eclipse." This occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun at a time when the moon is at or close to its farthest point from our planet. It does not completely obscure the face of the sun, unlike in a total solar eclipse.
Because the moon is farther than usual from Earth during an annular solar eclipse, the moon will not completely obscure the sun, instead looking like a dark disk superimposed atop the sun's larger, bright face in the sky. As a result, the eclipse will momentarily look like a ring of fire surrounding the dark disc of the moon. A total solar eclipse is due to occur on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada.
According to the U.S. space agency NASA, the path in the United States where the maximum obscuring of the sun will occur on Oct. 14 runs through parts of several states beginning at 9:13 a.m. PDT (12:13 p.m. EDT/1613 GMT) in Oregon, then California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The path then crosses over parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia
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