An annular solar eclipse is happening on Saturday and it will be quite the show from Texas to Oregon as a "ring of fire" moves overhead. The Tri-State technically sees a fraction of this event but with clouds in the forecast, there's nothing to see locally.
What's an annular solar eclipse?
This is like a solar eclipse but it doesn't reach 100% coverage or totality. According to NASA, "An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, but when it is at or near its farthest point from Earth. Because the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the Sun. As a result, the Moon appears as a dark disk on top of a larger, bright disk, creating what looks like a ring around the Moon."
What would we see locally if clouds weren't present?
Saturday will be overcast locally, so we won't see any of this event. But had the sky been clear, we would have seen 40-50% coverage of the moon over the sun.
This isn't something the naked eye would have noticed by looking at the sun (which you shouldn't do directly anyways). You would have needed eclipse glasses or a viewing instrument, like a pinhole projector. An easy trick during the last partial eclipse was to filter light through items like a strainer or even between the leaves of trees, and the shadows/light displayed were in the shape of the eclipse, a crescent shape.
When's the next big event?
The total solar eclipse is coming on April 8, 2024. The path of totality is just northwest of Cincinnati so it will be an easy drive to fully take in this event! Let's just hope it's a better forecast locally.
Watch Live:
