When the moon is visible high in the sky, it usually means the sun is somewhere else. The notable exception: a solar eclipse, when the moon can be seen in silhouette taking a bite out of the sun’s disc, sometimes to spectacular effect.
On Saturday, viewers across the United States, as well as parts of Central and South America, will be treated to a particularly deep and dramatic solar eclipse whose partial phases will also be visible to varying degree in Canada. For science educators and planetariums, the event will also serve as a dress rehearsal for a long-anticipated total eclipse of the sun next spring.
Astronomers categorize this Saturday’s eclipse as “annular” rather than total because the sun will never be fully obscured, even for those directly on the centre line of the eclipse. The reason has to do with the moon’s changing distance from Earth: When the moon is at a farther that average point in its orbit, as it is this week, it is too small in the sky to cover the sun completely. Instead, the visible edge of the sun will form an unbroken ring or annulus, sometimes called the “ring of fire,” that encircles the moon’s dark disc.
Because the sun’s light is never completely blocked during an annular eclipse, many of the signature effects of a total solar eclipse – including day briefly turning to night – do not occur. Even so, an annular eclipse can be a thrilling experience, and Saturday’s event is expected to draw crowds wherever it can be seen in the U.S.
The "Ring of Fire" eclipse of Oct. 14, 2023
In some U.S. locations the sun will appear as an unbroken ring during the peak of the eclipse. In all Canadian locations the event will be a partial eclipse only
B.C.
Alta.
Sask.
Que.
N.L.
Edmonton
Man.
Vancouver
Ont.
Saskatoon
10%
Calgary
Winnipeg
N.B.
Victoria
20%
Montreal
30%
Path of annular eclipse
U.S.
Toronto
40%
Windsor
50%
60%
70%
80%
80%
70%
60%
40%
Mexico
50%
Oct. 14 partial solar eclipse for selected
Canadian cities
All times are local
Start of
eclipse
Maximum
eclipse
End of
eclipse
Sun cover
at max.
Victoria
Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Saskatoon
Winnipeg
Windsor
Toronto
Montreal
8:07 a.m.
8:09 a.m.
9:14 a.m.
9:18 a.m.
9:21 a.m.
10:29 a.m.
11:47 a.m.
11:56 a.m.
12:12 p.m.
9:19 a.m.
9:20 a.m.
10:27 a.m.
10:28 a.m.
10:33 a.m.
11:42 a.m.
1:05 p.m.
1:10 p.m.
1:18 p.m.
10:38 a.m.
10:38 a.m.
11:45 a.m.
11:44 a.m.
11:50 a.m.
1:00 p.m.
2:26 p.m.
2:45 p.m.
2:24 p.m.
~ 78%
~75%
~60%
~53%
~49%
~42%
~34%
~27%
~17%
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: “THE OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK 2023”, ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA; GREATAMERICANECLIPSE.COM
The "Ring of Fire" eclipse of Oct. 14, 2023
In some U.S. locations the sun will appear as an unbroken ring during the peak of the eclipse. In all Canadian locations the event will be a partial eclipse only
NWT
Nunavut
B.C.
Alta.
Sask.
Que.
N.L.
Edmonton
Man.
Vancouver
Ont.
Saskatoon
10%
Calgary
Winnipeg
N.B.
Victoria
20%
Montreal
30%
Path of annular eclipse
U.S.
Toronto
40%
Windsor
50%
60%
70%
80%
80%
70%
60%
40%
Mexico
50%
Oct. 14 partial solar eclipse for selected Canadian cities
All times are local
Start of
eclipse
Maximum
eclipse
End of
eclipse
Sun cover
at max.
Victoria
Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Saskatoon
Winnipeg
Windsor
Toronto
Montreal
8:07 a.m.
8:09 a.m.
9:14 a.m.
9:18 a.m.
9:21 a.m.
10:29 a.m.
11:47 a.m.
11:56 a.m.
12:12 p.m.
9:19 a.m.
9:20 a.m.
10:27 a.m.
10:28 a.m.
10:33 a.m.
11:42 a.m.
1:05 p.m.
1:10 p.m.
1:18 p.m.
10:38 a.m.
10:38 a.m.
11:45 a.m.
11:44 a.m.
11:50 a.m.
1:00 p.m.
2:26 p.m.
2:45 p.m.
2:24 p.m.
~ 78%
~75%
~60%
~53%
~49%
~42%
~34%
~27%
~17%
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: “THE OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK 2023”, ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA; GREATAMERICANECLIPSE.COM
The "Ring of Fire" eclipse of Oct. 14, 2023
In some U.S. locations the sun will appear as an unbroken ring during the peak of the eclipse. In all Canadian locations the event will be a partial eclipse only
NWT
Nunavut
B.C.
Alta.
Sask.
Que.
N.L.
Edmonton
Man.
Ont.
Saskatoon
Vancouver
10%
Calgary
Victoria
Winnipeg
N.B.
20%
Montreal
30%
U.S.
Toronto
Path of annular eclipse
40%
Windsor
50%
60%
70%
80%
80%
70%
60%
40%
Mexico
50%
Oct. 14 partial solar eclipse for selected Canadian cities
All times are local
Start of
eclipse
Maximum
eclipse
End of
eclipse
Sun cover
at max.
Victoria
Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Saskatoon
Winnipeg
Windsor
Toronto
Montreal
8:07 a.m.
8:09 a.m.
9:14 a.m.
9:18 a.m.
9:21 a.m.
10:29 a.m.
11:47 a.m.
11:56 a.m.
12:12 p.m.
9:19 a.m.
9:20 a.m.
10:27 a.m.
10:28 a.m.
10:33 a.m.
11:42 a.m.
1:05 p.m.
1:10 p.m.
1:18 p.m.
10:38 a.m.
10:38 a.m.
11:45 a.m.
11:44 a.m.
11:50 a.m.
1:00 p.m.
2:26 p.m.
2:45 p.m.
2:24 p.m.
~ 78%
~75%
~60%
~53%
~49%
~42%
~34%
~27%
~17%
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: “THE OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK 2023”, ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA; GREATAMERICANECLIPSE.COM
This eclipse will trace a path from northwest to south, carving its way along a broad band from Oregon to Texas. In those locations, the sun will be close to 90 per cent obscured. Even people who are not aware of the eclipse before hand will likely notice that there’s something weird going on with the sky. Outside of that central path, the eclipse will be partial with effects that becomes progressively more subtle with increasing distance.
In Canada, the eclipse is best seen in Southern B.C., including Victoria and Vancouver. In both cities, the sun will be more than 75 per cent covered at maximum. In contrast, Eastern Canada will see only a modest eclipse, with less than one third of the sun covered for most of Ontario, and less than 20 per cent for Quebec.
It is never safe to stare directly at the sun, so partial eclipses should only be viewed with approved protective equipment or indirectly by projecting the sun’s light through a pinhole onto a white surface. And for those who plan to view the eclipse, making preparations have the added advantage of serving as a dry run for Canada’s best total eclipse in a generation, which is on April 8, 2024 – now less than six months away.
“The great thing about Saturday’s eclipse is that it really does start to whet everybody’s appetite for the upcoming total,” said Victoria Kramkowski, co-chair of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s solar eclipse task force.
Dr. Kramkowski said that plans are under way for increased public education around next year’s event, during which a total eclipse will cut a swath across Southern Ontario, Quebec and touch a portion of all four Atlantic provinces.