In case you haven’t heard — Texas, specifically San Antonio and the Hill Country, are at a rare crossroads for two upcoming eclipses.
The first is an annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023, and the second is a total solar eclipse, which will occur on April 8, 2024.
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For the annular eclipse in October, Space.com compiled a list of seven U.S. national parks that will offer great views of the event, including one in Texas.
“If you want the longest view of a ring-of-fire solar eclipse possible, there’s only one place to be,” Space.com officials said.
Padre Island National Seashore.
According to Space.com, the eclipse will be visible at the northern end of the barrier island national park for roughly 4 minutes, 52 seconds.
“However, there is one drawback: Padre Island National Seashore has been cloudy on this day 65% of the time since 2000,” officials noted.
“An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth while it is at its farthest point from Earth,” according to NASA. “Because the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the star. This creates a ‘ring of fire’ effect in the sky.”
No need to turn around — eclipse glasses are one option for viewing the solar events, or you can also just a pinhole projector. Here’s how to make a pinhole projector.