Our time in the sun: TAAS ready to help with safe annular solar eclipse viewing at sites across NM

For the first time in more than a decade, those in Albuquerque and its surrounding areas will be able to witness an annular solar eclipse.

The phenomenon occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth while at its farthest point from Earth, which creates a “ring of fire” effect in the sky because the sun is not completely covered.

“It’s just a really cool thing to see,” said Steve Snider, president of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society. “It’s obviously a product of celestial mechanics. The moon is at apogee, which is the furthest point away from earth at that point where it’s going to be crossing the face of the sun. Because it’s at apogee, it’s just far enough out to not cover the entire face of the sun when it goes over it.

“You’ll see the partial phases fairly normal as you would in pretty much any other eclipse, but then instead of going total (eclipse), you’ll see that ring of fire. Then back into the partial phases again. It’s pretty cool to see.”

The annular solar eclipse will only be visible in parts of the United States on Oct. 14. According to NASA.gov, it begins in Oregon and ends in Texas — spanning a total of six states over an approximately three-hour period. In Albuquerque, annularity begins at 10:34 a.m. and concludes at 10:39 a.m. The moment may be fleeting, but the Duke City is one of the most ideal spots for viewing. It also just happens to coincide with the conclusion of the Balloon Fiesta, which means there should be plenty of people on hand to view the spectacle. TAAS has been preparing for the big day for the past year to make sure it has all bases covered.

“The duration of annularity is a little bit longer here, but I think the real draw is the probability of good weather compared to the rest of the eclipse track,” Snider said. “It starts up in Oregon — probably gonna be pretty cloudy up there. As the track rolls down, weather can be iffy. But Albuquerque has a statistically much better probability of cloud-free weather.”

Snider was on hand when an annular eclipse last appeared in Albuquerque in 2012. Back then, it happened much later in the day, and the primary viewing destination was south of the airport. This time around, eclipse aficionados will have many more options to witness the ring of fire: There are at least 17 TAAS-supported sites for viewing. These will be staffed with at least two TAAS members and will have telescopes and solar filters on hand.

“We needed a really clear view of the western horizon (back then) because the eclipse was happening later in the day toward sunset,” Snider said. “For the upcoming eclipse, the sun will be pretty high in the sky. We also decided that it probably would be better to spread out all of the observing sites instead of one big, massive site. The logistics for one big, massive site got to be a little hairy.”

According to Snider, the event will attract visitors from as far as Germany, as well as throughout the United States and Canada. A major point of emphasis, as always with eclipse viewing, is safety. The annular eclipse cannot be viewed with the naked eye, so all sites will be equipped with protective special glasses and viewers, including more than 80,000 pairs of viewing glasses at Balloon Fiesta Park alone.

“Everybody be careful, but enjoy it. There’s plenty of sites to go to. Our volunteers are thrilled to do this. It’s lots of fun for us,” Snider said. “Working with the public is always a real pleasure when we’re doing astronomy. The reactions we get from folks are just priceless.”

In astronomy circles, the annular eclipse is just the beginning of what is shaping up to be an eventful six-month period.

“We kind of view it as a precursor or a really good warm up for the total solar eclipse that’s going to be happening in April,” Snider said.