On Wednesday, October 2, the Sun will transform into a dramatic “ring of fire” as an annular solar eclipse crosses parts of the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, southern Chile, and southern Argentina.
An annular eclipse has five key stages. We’ll outline each stage and detail which regions will see them on October 2, along with the corresponding times.
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on our planet. The path of this shadow defines the eclipse’s trajectory.
Unlike a total eclipse, which occurred in April, an annular eclipse happens when the Moon is closer to Earth and farther from the Sun. As a result, the Sun isn’t completely obscured. Instead, it appears as a glowing, fiery ring.
The central shadow of the eclipse is called the antumbra. Observers within this area will experience the full annularity. Unfortunately, most of the eclipse’s path will cross the ocean, meaning only about 175,000 people (0.002% of the world’s population) will see the complete ring of fire.
For those outside the antumbra, where the Moon casts a “fuzzy” shadow known as the penumbra, a partial eclipse will be visible. About 245 million people, or 3% of the global population, will see some part of the eclipse.
First Contact marks the start of the solar eclipse. It is the moment when the Moon’s shadow first touches the Sun’s disk, leading to a partial eclipse. Over the next 30 minutes, the Moon will progressively cover more of the Sun, creating the appearance of a large bite taken out of it. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Moon approaches from the right, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it comes from the left.
On October 2, first contact will occur at 11:15 AM EDT (1542 GMT) over the Pacific.
Second Contact happens when most of the Moon covers the solar disk. This leads to the last glimmers of light peeking through the valleys and peaks of the Moon’s surface, creating “Bailey’s beads.” This marks the start of the annularity.
Second contact on Wednesday will occur around 12:24 PM EDT (1624 GMT) over the Pacific, with the annular eclipse becoming visible in Hawaii around the same time. It will first make landfall in southern Chile at approximately 2:56 PM EDT (1856 GMT).
Maximum Contact represents the moment when the Moon is fully positioned over the Sun. This is when the Moon’s dark disk is surrounded by sunlight.
On Wednesday, the “ring of fire” will first be visible at 12:45 PM EDT (1645 GMT) over the Pacific. Southern Chile will see annularity around 4:20 PM EDT (2020 GMT), followed by Argentina at around 4:25 PM EDT (2025 GMT).
Fourth Contact marks the stage when the Moon starts to move away from the Sun, ending the annularity and beginning another partial eclipse. This will also allow observers to see Bailey’s beads again.
The last chance to see the annularity from land will occur at 4:30 PM EDT (2030 GMT) over Argentina. The ring of fire will completely fade at 4:30 PM EDT (2039 GMT), as the partial eclipse resumes.
The Fifth Contact is the final stage when the Moon moves entirely away from the solar disk. On Wednesday, this will happen around 5:47 PM EDT (2147 GMT).
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