Solar eclipse: stunning photos from around South Mississippi

Eric's First Alert Forecast Oct 15, 2023
Published: Oct. 14, 2023 at 9:23 PM CDT|Updated: Oct. 15, 2023 at 8:52 AM CDT
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BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - The celestial event of the year took place across North America on Saturday and it was visible right here in South Mississippi – at least partially.

That celestial event was an annular solar eclipse that was visible from Oregon to the Texas Gulf Coast. While South Mississippi was not in the path of the annular solar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse was still visible. At its maximum, the moon blocked out about 65-70% of the sun.

Annular eclipses occur when the moon crosses between the earth and sun, but appears smaller than the sun. This creates a ring of light, which is why they are sometimes called “ring of fire” eclipses. That was visible only along a narrow path from Oregon stretching southeast to Utah, Nevada, New Mexico and southern Texas.

Regardless, many took to social media to post their pics of the eclipse as it was happening, and many submitted their photos via the WLOX Weather App. The next solar eclipse visible across North America will be April 8, 2024. It will be a partial eclipse for South Mississippi, but with more blockage of the sun compared to the Oct 14, 2023 eclipse where 68% of the sun was covered up by the moon. The April 2024 eclipse will block about 80% of the sun across South Mississippi with totality crossing from Texas to Maine.

Total solar eclipse April 8, 2024. Around 80% of the sun blocked by the moon in South...
Total solar eclipse April 8, 2024. Around 80% of the sun blocked by the moon in South Mississippi.(NASA)

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