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Riley talks about the Oct. 14 eclipse and fangirls over the moon.
Oregon Eclipse
Oregon Eclipse
By Riley Barta
By Riley Barta
On Oct. 14, 2023, Oregon saw its annular solar eclipse. The eclipse moved through North America and could be seen on the Oregon coast. It was visible in Grants Pass around 9:07 AM. How do eclipses work?
Eclipses happen when the moon and the sun overlap, and there are two different kinds of eclipses. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth’s shadow obscures the moon. They are also only possible when there is a full moon. A solar eclipse happens when the moon obstructs the Earth’s view of the sun. Think of it like this: sun-earth-moon is a lunar eclipse, and sun-moon-earth is a solar eclipse. Another difference between solar and lunar eclipses is their look. According to NASA, “the Moon appears orangish or reddish during a lunar eclipse.” It also only affects half of the planet at a time. A solar eclipse looks like a part of the sun is blacked out, and it travels to different parts of the planet. For example, the Oct. 14 solar eclipse began in Eugene and made its way to the Gulf of Mexico. It is important to note that the eclipse is not literally moving, but the curve of the Earth affects when it is seen in different places.
The Earth's orbit of the sun massively affects the amount of eclipses that will happen in a year. The three cosmic entities have to line up almost perfectly for an eclipse to happen. The Earth’s path around the sun changes the moon’s orbit around Earth. So, while it may seem an eclipse is a sun and moon relationship, the Earth plays an important role in an eclipse. This is also the reason why eclipses do not happen every month. Solar eclipses happen significantly less often than lunar eclipses. This is also due to the orbit of the planets. According to the National Weather Service, “The Moon's orbit is tilted 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. Therefore a solar eclipse is a relatively rare phenomena.” The orbit is a huge contributor to whether or not an eclipse occurs.
The annular solar eclipse that passed over Oregon was called the “Ring of Fire” eclipse. When the moon passed over the sun, it left what looked like a halo in the sky. This happened because the moon was at its farthest point from the Earth; therefore, it could not completely cover the sun. Unfortunately, people who did not view the annular eclipse will have to wait until 2046 to view it from North America again (NASA prediction in a CNN interview). Annular eclipses are often confused with total solar eclipses. A total solar eclipse happens when the moon completely blocks out the sun's light. This will cause the sky to darken and give spectators the ability to see the sun's corona. The sun’s corona is the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere and is often unseen due to the brightness of the sun. The next total solar eclipse is predicted to happen on Apr. 8, 2024, over North America. The term annular solar eclipse does not mean annual solar eclipse. Annular means “ring shape” in astrology, so annular solar eclipse means ring shape eclipse. That can also be called a Ring of Fire eclipse. Annular eclipses also do not fully darken the sky. According to Exploratorium, a science partner with NASA, “sunlight dims, but the sky does not go dark.” Solar eclipses can come in different forms, and North America gets to see both of them
The Oct. 14 annular solar eclipse was a cosmic event that happened right over Oregon. Eclipses can give scientists insight into orbital patterns. They also give opportunities for everyday people to witness a massive event. Get ready for the full solar eclipse in Apr. and make sure to get eclipse glasses!
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