00:00 All right, tomorrow's a big day for many.
00:02 It's a big day.
00:03 Happening tomorrow is our annular solar eclipse,
00:06 which will be visible from Texas to Oregon.
00:09 And now, joining us to discuss the eclipse
00:13 and what you can expect is our AccuWeather astronomy expert,
00:17 Brian Leda.
00:17 Brian, it is always a pleasure to have you here,
00:20 especially for such a big event.
00:22 So let's dive in here.
00:24 We have a ring of fire solar eclipse tomorrow.
00:26 Can you explain to our viewers what that actually
00:29 means if they've never seen or heard of that before?
00:33 Yeah, good morning, Christina.
00:35 And here in the United States, it's rare.
00:36 We have back-to-back eclipses just separated by 177 days.
00:41 So we have this one coming up on Saturday,
00:43 and then another one happening.
00:44 It's going to be even more impressive next year in April.
00:47 But what we have on Saturday is what is known
00:49 as an annular solar eclipse.
00:51 As the moon orbits the Earth, there's
00:53 times where it's not a perfect circle in the orbit.
00:55 There's times where the moon's a little bit closer to the Earth,
00:58 so it's a little bit bigger in the sky,
01:00 and times where it's a bit farther away from the Earth,
01:02 where it's just a little bit smaller.
01:04 And that little difference can make a big effect,
01:06 especially during solar eclipses like this,
01:09 because on Saturday, as the moon passes directly
01:11 between the Earth and the sun, it's
01:13 not going to be quite big enough to completely cover the sun.
01:16 So what we're going to have in that narrow area from Oregon
01:19 to Texas is the moon will be outlined
01:22 by a ring of sunlight or a ring of fire,
01:25 hence that nickname of a ring of fire eclipse.
01:28 OK, considering you'll still be able to see some of the sun,
01:31 this sounds like a don't stare straight at it
01:33 without glasses situation, right?
01:36 Yeah, definitely.
01:36 You want to make sure that you take proper safety precautions
01:39 so you don't damage your eyes.
01:41 And so we recommend everyone use eclipse glasses or solar
01:44 filters.
01:45 If you still have some from back in the 2017 Great American
01:48 Eclipse, they still work this time.
01:50 Just make sure that they have the following number printed
01:52 on them.
01:53 12312-2.
01:55 If it has that number, then you're good to go
01:57 and you can look at this event.
01:59 But if you don't have eclipse glasses,
02:00 there's still plenty to see around your area.
02:02 If you go to AccuWeather.com, we have an article
02:04 that breaks down different phenomena
02:06 that you can look for if you don't
02:09 have those eclipse glasses.
02:10 Now, you did mention for the folks who maybe might not
02:13 be able to see this eclipse, or maybe they just
02:15 don't have those glasses in time,
02:17 we do have another solar eclipse in April of 2024.
02:20 Can you explain what that is and what
02:22 people can expect as they look forward to the spring?
02:26 Yes, the event that we have coming up next year, April 8,
02:29 2024, is a total solar eclipse.
02:31 And in that event, the moon will completely block out the sun.
02:35 Now, both this one that we have on Saturday and the one
02:37 next year, all of North America will
02:39 get a partial solar eclipse.
02:41 So you at least get to see part of the show.
02:43 But to see that total eclipse next year,
02:45 you need to be in a zone from Texas to Maine.
02:48 And I've seen one myself.
02:50 A total solar eclipse is unlike anything else.
02:52 I highly recommend if you want to see it, start planning now.
02:55 There's already hotels that are booked solid.
02:57 So it might be a little tricky to find reservations.
03:00 But you definitely want to travel because after next year,
03:03 we need to wait another 20 years before we
03:05 can see another total solar eclipse in the United States.
03:08 20 years.
03:10 Wow.
03:11 OK, so definitely start that planning, all you astronomy
03:14 buffs out there.
03:15 And at you other astronomy expert, Brian Leda,
03:18 as always, such a pleasure to have you.
03:19 Thanks for joining us this morning.
03:22 Yeah, thanks for having me.
03:23 And good luck viewing the eclipse this weekend.
