Everything You Should Know Before The Annular Solar Eclipse In Texas

An annular or “ring of fire” eclipse will be visible across Texas on October 14. Though you will be able to see the eclipse all over the state, there are better places than others to see the astronomical event.

The partial eclipse will start at about 10:20 am, reaching the full “ring of fire” around 11:50 am. The best places to see the eclipse will be Odessa, Barnhart, San Angelo, Fredericksburg, Kerrville, San Antonio, Beeville and Corpus Christi. Uvalde will also be a great place to see both the annular eclipse this October14 and the total solar eclipse on April 8.

An annular eclipse is sometimes called “ring of fire” because the moon is so far away from the Earth that it can’t completely block the sun, so a ring of sunlight surrounds the moon shadow, creating a “ring of fire”.

Now that you know which are the best places to see the eclipse, you should know that you will need proper eyewear to see the eclipse, as sunlight can harm your eyes. NASA says that you should use solar viewing glasses or solar viewers. Regular sunglasses will not protect your eyes from the direct sunlight, so it is crucial to use solar viewing glasses or handheld solar viewers. Alternatively, there are indirect ways to see the eclipse.

You must not look at the eclipse through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars or other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer if the optical devices do not have a special filter. The concentrated solar rays will burn through your glasses or solar viewer and will cause serious eye injury.

Next year, there will be a total solar eclipse, and this time, the moon will completely block the sunlight, and it will be 20 years before another eclipse can be seen in the continental U.S.

If you still have doubts about the solar eclipse, you can always check on Nasa’s interactive map, to check the exact hour the eclipse will begin in your city.