Solar Eclipse Appears as "Ring of Fire" Above the City

By Yehudit Garmaise

     New Yorkers who were up at sunrise were able to view a rare partial solar eclipse, when for four minutes, the moon blocked 60 to 80% of the sun, making the sky unusually dark except for a “ring of fire.”

   In New York, eclipse enthusiasts were able to see part of an annular solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon is too far from Earth to block out the entire sun, leaving the sun peeking out over the moon's disk in a ring of fire, NASA said.

   In Brooklyn, although the partial eclipse was not yet visible, it began at 4:38am. The sun rose at 5:24am, and at 5:32am, New Yorkers were able to see the partial eclipse they were able to view: when moon moved closet to the center of the sun, blocking out the majority of its rays. 

     At 6:30am, the moon travelled from the sun’s edge, and the partial eclipse ended.  

    Some hearty New Yorkers woke up early and paid $114.81 to view this morning’s celestial spectacle from the top of the Empire State building.

     Although the sun's diameter is about 400 times larger than that of the moon because the sun is 400 times farther from Earth than the moon, the sun and moon appear to us as nearly the same size.

     However, in an annular eclipse, the moon is far enough away from the Earth that it appears smaller than the sun, which is it is.

    While people often drive from all over to view solar eclipses, which are beautiful and awe-inspiring, viewers of solar eclipses should remember that they must never look directly at the sun’s rays, which can permanently damage the eyes. regular sunglasses and avoid looking directly at the sun's rays. Even regular sunglasses do provide enough eye protection during eclipses, when special eclipse glasses or sun filters for glasses are the only safe options.

     The next total solar eclipse will take place on April 8, 2024 and will be visible from New York City.