Important Takeaways:

• Rare ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse will cross the U.S. on Saturday: Here’s how to see it
• The astronomical event will take place Saturday. Weather permitting, sky-watchers in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas, as well as slivers of California, Idaho, Colorado and Arizona, will be able to see the moon almost completely cover the sun, creating the effect of a fiery, orange-hued ring around the moon’s shadow. In all other states in the continental U.S., viewers will be treated to a partial solar eclipse, with the moon obscuring only part of the sun in the sky.
• Solar eclipses are the results of cosmic confluences, occurring when the moon passes in front of the sun and temporarily blocks its light. Saturday’s event is what’s known as an annular solar eclipse — “annular” means “ring-shaped” in Latin.
• On Saturday, sky-watchers along a roughly 125-mile-wide path that cuts from Oregon south to Texas and through Central and South America will be able to see the full “ring of fire” effect. Most people in North America outside the “path of annularity” will see a partial eclipse if skies are clear.
• Sky-watchers in Oregon will be able to see the start of a partial eclipse at 8:06 a.m. PT. The period of annularity, when the “ring of fire” effect is visible, will last around 5 minutes. During that time, the point of maximum coverage for people in Eugene, Oregon, will occur at 9:18 a.m. PT. Maximum coverage will be at 9:20 a.m. PT in Alturas, California; at 9:23 a.m. PT in Battle Mountain, Nevada; at 10:28 a.m. MT in Richfield, Utah; at 10:35 a.m. MT in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and 11:54 a.m. CT in San Antonio.

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