This Is The Best Place In Iowa To See The “Ring Of Fire” Eclipse This Month

We remember how nuts everyone went for the eclipse in 2018, right? There's a new one on the literal horizon.

According to NASA's website there will be a solar eclipse (known as the "ring of fire" eclipse) that will be visible from all 49 continental states.

If you're wondering why it got the fun "ring of fire" nickname, KCCI has your answer:

The "ring of fire" nickname comes from the appearance of annular solar eclipses, which are like total solar eclipses, except the moon is at the farthest point in its orbit from Earth, so they can't completely block the sun. Instead, the sun's fiery light surrounds the moon's shadow, creating the so-called ring of fire.

So no, it's not an eclipse sponsored by Johnny Cash.

The eclipse will be on October 14th and will start at 11:13 a.m. CST. It will last until 12:03.

It's trajectory is from the Oregon coast to the Texas coast. You'll be able to see it in every state, but one part of Iowa will have better visibility of it than other parts.

Why This Eclipse Is Interesting

Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager at NASA, said it will be a hot minute before we see one of these again:

The next annular eclipse seen in this part of the country is actually going to be in 2046. It's going to be a long stretch before we will see this phenomenon again, so we're really encouraging folks to go out there and observe safely.

The Map

If you want a good place to see the eclipse, southwestern Iowa looks to be your best bet.

When you get into Illinois and Wisconsin you get down to 40-50% visibility.

Don't Look At It Too Long

Eclipse glasses (sunglasses won't work) are the only safe way to look at an eclipse. Just like with the actual sun, it's a bad idea to just stare at it because duh.

You can get more details about the eclipse on NASA's website.