Prepare for the 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse this Saturday

On Saturday, millions of people throughout the Americas are getting ready for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. An annular solar eclipse, which will occur from Oregon to Brazil, will see the moon block out the sun.

The celestial wonder of this weekend is scheduled to fly through the Western United States, the Yucatán Peninsula, and other Central American countries before ending at sunset off the coast of South America. People from all walks of life will come together for a momentary reminder that we all live in the same house amid a vast and endless world, similar to the solar eclipse in 2017 that crossed 14 American states.

Franck Marchis, an astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, recalled staring in awe during his first eclipse at a historic shrine in Tokyo. "You have this moment when you see the place of yourself in the universe," he said.

When the moon passes in front of the sun and the Earth, a solar eclipse happens. This alignment occasionally takes place when the moon is furthest from Earth because its orbit is slightly ovular rather than circular. An annular solar eclipse, also known as the "ring of fire," is the end outcome, which spectators will see this weekend.

The annular eclipse will be visible in parts of California and Colorado as well as Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States. Between noon and 1 p.m. Eastern time, it will traverse the 125-mile-wide path of annularity. People in major areas like Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Houston will also see a partial eclipse if they are not in this area of the country.

No matter where you watch, experts caution against viewing the annular eclipse without the proper safety gear to prevent eye damage.

Clear skies were predicted between the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain ranges in National Weather Service forecast models run early on Friday, which could allow people in parts of the eclipse's path through eastern Nevada, northeastern Arizona, western Utah, and northwestern New Mexico to view the event. That also applied to the majority of Central Texas.

But with nearly total cloud cover for the majority of the nation by Saturday noon, conditions will likely prevent many other areas of the United States from seeing even a partial eclipse.

Much of Southern California, Arizona, Eastern Texas, Southern Oklahoma, Southern Arkansas, and Northern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama could enjoy excellent views of the partially eclipsed sun because they are not in the annularity's path.

Events of all sizes are scheduled along the annularity's route. At a gathering in Oregon that will feature a live band and a brunch sponsored by a group of artists and scientists, Dr. Marchis plans to set up telescopes.

Livestreaming the eclipse from the Valley of the Gods in southern Utah and disseminating Navajo knowledge about the celestial phenomenon are being done by the Exploratorium in San Francisco. A three-day celebration has been planned in Marysvale, Utah, a community along the route with only a few hundred residents, for an anticipated inflow. 

The Utah Department of Transportation anticipated significant traffic in addition to more than 300,000 people to the state's central area. More than four minutes and 30 seconds of annularity will be experienced in several areas of the state.

The annular eclipse's duration of four minutes and 41 seconds will also serve as the opening act for a daylong science and art festival in Roswell, New Mexico, the self-described "U.F.O. capital of the world."

From Texas' west to southeast border, the eclipse will pass through the state. The area near San Antonio, the seventh-largest city in the country, has the distinction of being in the path of two eclipses: the annular event on Saturday and the total eclipse that will take place in April and start in Mexico, travel across the Southern and Eastern United States, and terminate in Canada. Locals and scientists have been getting more and more excited lately.

"It's unusual for a location to be within the eclipse crossroads — for two solar eclipses, how lucky," said eclipse chaser Kate Russo. Dr. Russo has witnessed 13 complete eclipses in 11 different countries, and she is currently in San Antonio for her third annular eclipse.

According to Angela Speck, professor and chair of the physics and astronomy department at the University of Texas at San Antonio, total eclipses haven't occurred in the San Antonio region since 1397, however annular eclipses have passed through the region roughly six times in the previous 500 years. The following San Antonio event is slated for 2200.

Dr. Speck, who proudly sports a tattoo of an eclipse on her left arm, added, "It's been a really long time."

From Corpus Christi to the Hill Country near Uvalde to San Antonio, several sites in Central and South Texas have been preparing for the phenomena, which will last for more than four minutes.

To assist with preparing the area for the annular eclipse, Dr. Russo, a member of the national Solar Eclipse Task Force, arrived in San Antonio about two weeks ago. She'll return in April as well.

It never gets old to see an eclipse, she said.

She described the sudden darkness as coming on "like a boom — you are in another world entirely." It's exhilarating, thrilling, astounding, goosebumps-inducing, and humbling.

After leaving Texas, the eclipse will travel through the Gulf of Mexico and land in Central and South America. Its shadow will fall on towns like Campeche and Chetumal, as well as the pyramids at the archaeological site of Edzna, where 5,000 visitors are anticipated, as it reaches the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. Events have been scheduled all throughout the peninsula by scientists, researchers, and local authorities. The night before the eclipse, Campeche will host a "Festival of the Sun" that will feature live music, dance performances, and indigenous customs.

To witness the eclipse, schoolchildren will travel to a historical location on the tiny island of Jaina. Authorities in Campeche have opened more viewing areas at parks, gardens, art centers, and even a nursing home in anticipation of a spike in tourists visiting the region. Public telescopes with filters will be available at some of the locations.

In an August news briefing, Yucatán eclipse committee member Daniela Tarhuni mentioned that the area would be commemorating its Maya heritage as the eclipse passes across the center of the Indigenous land. In the past, eclipses were unlucky occasions for the Maya people. However, several Maya people provided an alternative account of what happened.

The eclipse on October 14 offers a fresh chance to respect "Mayan wisdom, based on the knowledge and observation of the cosmos and the movement of the stars," Carlos Chablé Mendoza, a Quintana Roo-based Mayan author, chronicler, and cultural booster, said on Thursday in La Jornada Maya.

He said, "Remember that we, the Mayans, are the lords of time," alluding to the significance of eclipses to past Maya peoples. Therefore, like past eclipses that have occurred throughout the course of these thousands of years, the one that will happen helps to measure time.

Despite the fact that solar eclipses have been seen for thousands of years, not all of the science is clear.

According to Amir Caspi, a physicist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, "there's a lot more to learn about the sun."

Researchers will use ham radios on Saturday to examine how solar eclipses affect the ionosphere, the region of the atmosphere where Earth and space collide. In another California experiment, radio emissions from solar hot spots will be measured in order to investigate how they relate to space weather. The complete solar eclipse in April will see many more trials.

To understand the significance of a solar eclipse, however, you do not need to be a scientist.

Dan Seaton, a physicist at the Southwest Research Institute who will collaborate with Dr. Caspi on an experiment to examine the sun's upper atmosphere, said, "It's a unique chance to glimpse the magnificent clockwork of our solar system.

He also exhorts observers to observe how their surroundings change throughout the annular eclipse: As the moon swallows the sun, the air will cool, birds may roost, and shadows will become more defined.

This weekend, Dr. Marchis advises recording as much of the experience as you can.

"I have a memory — a story to tell — for every eclipse," he remarked.