SEATTLE (KOMO) — Space fans, buckle up. An annular eclipse will happen next Saturday, on the morning of Oct. 14, and will be partially visible around the country.

"Turn around, bright eyes," Bonnie Tyler wrote those lyrics for her 1983 smash hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart." While this upcoming eclipse will not be a total eclipse, many people can still expect exciting views in the sky.

The sun is never completely blocked by the moon during an annular solar eclipse. Therefore, NASA recommends that during the natural phenomenon, never look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing.

NASA said on its website that people can also use an indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector.

An annular solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth while it's at its farthest point from Earth, according to NASA.

And 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.

While a total solar eclipse has the sun covered completely, an annular eclipse leaves space for sunlight to reach Earth because the moon is not as close.

NASA wrote on its website that on Oct. 14, 2023, the annular eclipse will begin in the United States, traveling from the coast of Oregon to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Weather permitting, NASA said, the annular eclipse will be visible in totality in parts of Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as some parts of California, Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona.

Don't worry if you won't be directly in the path of the eclipse. Places like western Washington will have 75% or greater coverage during the event, with Seattle at 80% and that number increasing to the south and west, according to the website Great American Eclipse.

The annular eclipse will continue into Central America, passing over Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Panama. In South America, the eclipse will travel through Colombia before ending off the coast of Natal, Brazil, in the Atlantic Ocean.

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse, according to the website TimeAndDate.

Usually, the site said, there are two eclipses in a row. Other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

There will be a partial lunar eclipse on Oct. 28, according to the website.

NASA's Eclipse Explorer tool has more information, including how to see the eclipse where you live.

How to see the eclipse in Seattle, for example

The partial eclipse will begin at 8:07 a.m. on Oct. 14. The moment the edge of the moon touches the edge of the sun is called "first contact," according to TimeAndDate.com. The sun will be close to the horizon, so make sure to have free sight to the east.

The maximum eclipse, when the sun is most hidden, will happen at 9:20 a.m., the site wrote on its page about Seattle and the eclipse. The eclipse will end at 10:39 a.m.

Viewing relies on the weather, however, and Seattle's autumn can be unpredictable. For what it's worth, Oct. 14 last year was a clear day in Seattle, according to the National Weather Service.

Avoid instant severe eye injury

Because the sun is never completely blocked by the moon during an annular solar eclipse, NASA warns eclipse viewers it is never safe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing.

Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury, according to NASA.

Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the sun," NASA said in a post on its website. "Safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker and ought to comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard."

NASA also warns against looking at the sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer because the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury.

If you don’t have eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer, you can use an indirect viewing method, which does not involve looking directly at the sun," NASA said in the post. "One way is to use a pinhole projector, which has a small opening (for example, a hole punched in an index card) and projects an image of the sun onto a nearby surface."

"With the sun at your back, you can then safely view the projected image," NASA added. "Do NOT look at the sun through the pinhole!"

Upcoming: 2024 total solar eclipse

On April 8, 2024, there will be a total solar eclipse for much of the center and eastern parts of the United States.

San Antonio, Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Buffalo are cities lucky enough to enjoy the incredible phenomenon.

Seattle and the Puget Sound region will still have some coverage, albeit minimal. Seattle will have around 20% coverage of the sun.

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