Annular Solar Eclipse Is A Spectacular Viewing Event

September 28, 2023 |

Photo – Annular Solar Eclipse – Courtesy NASA

Wyoming will experience a partial solar eclipse on the morning of October 14^th.

Starting around 9:00am on Saturday, October 14^th, our area will witness an annular solar eclipse. Annular means ring-shaped and refers to the fact that the moon will only partially cover the sun, leaving a disc visible in the sky.

The University of Wyoming’s Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium is hosting an eclipse viewing event at Prexly’s Pasture, on the UW campus. Planetarium Coordinator Max Gilbraith described what people can expect to see on October 14^th.

Gilbraith said the partial solar eclipse is expected to begin around 9:00 am and last roughly three hours. The planetarium coordinator said the eclipse will culminate about an hour and a half later, based on where you are located.

Gilbraith said people who are curious about the celestial event should not look directly at the eclipse unless you are wearing specially-designed eclipse glasses. The planetarium coordinator said the simple carboard and plastic glasses are 1,000 times darker than normal sunglasses and block out the sun’s infrared and ultraviolet light. Gilbraith said eclipse glasses only offer sufficient protection when viewing the sun without magnification.

Gilbraith said the Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium will distribute eclipse glasses before and during the event. He said the glasses are free to UW students and $2 for everyone else. Gilbraith said the eclipse glasses can also be used to view a total solar eclipse predicted to occur on April 8^th, 2024.

Gilbraith said starting tomorrow, eclipse glasses will be given out for free to Saratoga school students. The planetarium coordinator also said the glasses will be available to purchase from the Saratoga public library for $2 a pair.

Gilbraith said the University of Wyoming has two solar telescopes. The planetarium coordinator said one telescope will be used by students to get a better view of the eclipse in Utah. The other solar telescope, Gilbraith said, will be available to use during October 14^th‘s event.

Gilbraith said people don’t need to visit the UW campus to view the partial solar eclipse. The planetarium director said hikers in the Snowy Range may have a special opportunity to witness the celestial event thanks to the surrounding trees.

Gilbraith said partial solar eclipses aren’t especially rare, occurring about every year and a half. However, the planetarium coordinator said being directly in the path of an annular eclipse only happens once every four centuries.

Gilbraith said southeastern Wyoming won’t be directly in the path of October 14^th‘s eclipse. Our area will see roughly 80% of the sun covered by the moon. Gilbraith said 2014 was the last time this type of eclipse was visible in Wyoming.

The annular eclipse of the sun is set to occur around 9:00 am on Saturday, October 14^th. A viewing event will be held at Prexly’s Pasture on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie. Visit the Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium Facebook page to register for the free event.