This weekend's partial eclipse will be a total miss for Tri-State viewers

Are you ready for Saturday's annular eclipse, which stargazers in the Tri-State have been waiting for since the summer of 2017? The eclipse, which will be visible on the East Coast around 1pm EDT, is also referred to as a "ring of fire" eclipse because of the effect produced by the moon blocking nearly all of the sun's rays, save for a narrow ring in the path of annularity. 

"Annular", by the way, means ring, so this is a fitting name! The path of annularity is narrow, and for this particular eclipse, it will trek across a less populated part of the continental United States. So, most of the people who will witness the full spectacle of this eclipse firsthand will have traveled some distance to get there. This interactive eclipse viewer from NASA is the origin of the image below, which shows the path for best viewing in gray:

NASA's interactive tool shows the path of annularity for Saturday's eclipse.

And as you can see, it's nowhere near the Tri-State area. (The total eclipse taking place next April will produce a better view for us... more on that later.)

A close-up view of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic from the NASA interactive viewer shows that people in the NYC area will have a 20%-25% blocked sun at the peak of the eclipse from our perspective. 

A close-up from NASA's interactive tool shows that we will have a very limited 

view of Saturday's eclipse.

Saturday's annular solar eclipse will look similar to this one for viewers in the Tri-State- except that, since this eclipse is happening around mid-day Eastern time, the sun will be high in the sky.
Photo courtesy of NASA

Not all solar eclipses are alike. The shadows they cast vary widely, with every location on Earth experiencing at least one eclipse at some point in history. And, some solar eclipses are total, with darkness instead of the "ring of fire" effect that an annular eclipse creates. These variations are made possible by the Moon's irregular orbit, and the fact that Earth's orbit around the Sun is not in sync with the Moon's orbit around Earth. 

Types of solar eclipses; NYC will experience the partial eclipse on October 14th, while viewers in locations like 

Texas's Hill Country and Medford, OR will be treated to a sight similar to the middle image. 
Graphic from NASA

When the Moon's orbit is closer to Earth and its path aligns with the Sun, a total solar eclipse happens. That's what will happen on April 8th of next year, when a path of totality will be created. 

Another close-up from NASA's interactive tool shows the path of totality for the eclipse on April 8th, 2024.

The irregular orbit of the Moon is also responsible for the phenomenon dubbed the "Supermoon", which is simply a full moon that occurs when the Moon's path is at perigee, or closest to Earth. Supermoons are more common than solar eclipses because the Sun is so much bigger; its diameter is about 401 times that of the Moon. The Sun is also about 389 times farther away from Earth than the Moon, which is why the two celestial objects appear to be the same size from our perspective!

This depiction of the setup for Saturday's annular eclipse is not to scale because it would be impossible to depict in a legible image. The distance from Earth to the Sun is much greater, and the Sun is much larger than Earth, too.

Graphic courtesy of Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

You can easily demonstrate the effect of the Moon's irregular path by moving your thumb closer and farther away from your eyes to block an object in front of you. When the Moon's path is farther from Earth, it does not block as much of the Sun's rays, causing a partial or annular eclipse like the one happening Friday. 

Unfortunately, the weather forecast is very bad news for anyone in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic who's hoping for a crescent-shaped view of the sun. A storm system that moved onshore in the Pacific Northwest will trek all the way across the country, brining us clouds and rain by Saturday. Bummer! If you're hoping for a change to that forecast, keep tabs with the National Weather Service's NYC-area office... and maybe petition them for a sunnier outlook? In the meantime, we can hope for better weather for the total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024; that eclipse's path will be much closer to the Tri-State, anyway. 

If you want to learn more about both upcoming eclipses from a real-life NASA heliophysicist (try saying that three times fast!), register for this free webinar organized by the AMS Weather Band, happening on Wednesday, October 11th.