A rare 'ring of fire' eclipse is set to be seen this month across the skies of North, Central and South America.
The annular solar eclipse will take place on October 14, giving millions of people the chance to see first-hand "the awe and the wonder of seeing a beautiful ring of fire eclipse," according to Peg Luce, acting director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA.
The annular solar eclipse is similar to a total eclipse but occurs when the moon is at the farthest point in its orbit from Earth, so is unable to completely block out the sun, earning its 'ring of fire' nickname due to the sun's light surrounding the moon's shadow.
The phenomenon is extremely rare and won't be seen again until 2046 after this one occurs on October 14.
The annular solar eclipse will begin in the United States at 9:13AM PT (12:13PM ET) and will go from the Oregon coast to Texas's Gulf Coast, and will be visible in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as parts of California, Idaho, Colorado and Arizona, before ending in the US at 12:03PM CT (1:03PM ET).
The eclipse will then cross Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia before ending off South America’s Atlantic coast at Natal, Brazil.
Providing there is good weather, a partial solar eclipse - appearing as a crescent shape - will be visible in all 49 states on October 14, including Alaska.
Those keen to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon will be able to use NASA's interactive eclipse map to follow when the eclipse will pass over their location, and if they're unable to see it first-hand, a live stream will begin at 11.30AM ET showing the views from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Kirbyville, Texas, and White Sands, New Mexico.
Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager at NASA, said: "The next annular eclipse seen in this part of the country is actually going to be in 2046. It’s going to be a long stretch before we will see this phenomenon again, so we’re really encouraging folks to go out there and observe safely."
Skygazers will see the moon slowly move across the sun, initially creating a crescent-shaped partial eclipse, taking an hour and 20 minutes to move directly in front of the sun.
Once it is aligned with the sun, the ring of fire - known as annularity - will begin, lasting between one and five minutes depending where it is observed from.
When the moon is directly in front of the sun, the sky will get darker, though it will not get as dark as it does when there is a total solar eclipse which blocks all of the sun's light, and NASA says the air may feel cooler in this period.
If you wish to view the annular solar eclipse, precautions should be taken to do so safely - and never look directly at the sun at any phase of the eclipse.
In order to view it safely, special certified eclipse glasses can be bought or a handheld solar viewer can be used.
Sunglasses will not work instead of eclipse glasses with Alex Lockwood, strategic content and integration lead for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA advising: "You need certified ISO 12312-2 compliant solar eclipse glasses. There are plenty of safe sellers online.
"We cannot stress enough how important it is to obtain a pair of safe certified solar eclipse glasses in order to witness this annular event."
Looking directly at the sun without the appropriate eye protection suitable for viewing the eclipse can cause severe and lasting eye damage.
While the annular solar eclipse won't be seen again until 2046, a total solar eclipse will be visible in over 10 states in the US as well as in parts of Mexico and Canada on April 8, 2024.
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