"Ring of Fire" –
Partial Solar Eclipse in the USA

The partial solar eclipse on Saturday 14 October 2023 could be seen in the open sky in North, Central and South America, and thus by about 13% of the world's population. However, it will be visible as an annular eclipse only in 10 countries with a maximum coverage of 95.2%. It will first be visible around 8:05 UTC on the coast of Oregon USA. Around 13:38 UTC, it will leave the USA near Texas and travel from Mexico via Panama to Brazil, where it can last be observed until 17:52 UTC.

In the US, solar power generation would be reduced by about 10 % for this day, assuming cloudless skies. We take the exact degree of reduction in solar power generation in our power forecasts for the respective solar park location into account – also with a view to possible cloud cover.

Such an annular solar eclipse can only be observed when the moon is at about its furthest point from the earth (apogee) and at the same time it is the new moon phase: The moon is on the side of the earth which is facing the sun, but because it is so far away from the earth, its umbra does not reach the earth's surface. Therefore, only a partial eclipse occurs on Earth, during which the sun remains visible in a narrow ring around the moon.

This partial eclipse is the second of three solar eclipses in a relatively short period of time, with the core area of >90% obscuration passes through the USA. There was a total solar eclipse in August 2017, and there will be another one in April 2024. After that, this impressive celestial phenomenon with this high degree of obscuration will not happen again until 2044.