Outreach

A ring of fire over Mexico: annular solar eclipse, October 2023

In exactly one year, Mexico will have the wonderful opportunity to appreciate an annular solar eclipse. On October 14, 2023, the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth will line up to present us with an annular-type Solar eclipse over the peninsula of Yucatan, and of the partial type for the rest of the Mexican Republic. In an annular eclipse, the solar disk is not completely covered, revealing a striking ring of fire, and this time the great attraction of the archaeological zones of the region will be added. It must be remembered that the last time an eclipse of this type was seen in our country was on May 10, 1994.

To encourage the general public to safely observe and enjoy the astronomical phenomenon, the Mexico National Eclipse Committee has been formed with representatives from educational and research institutions, groups of professional and amateur astronomers, and science communicators, who will provide information and coordinate the necessary actions in a timely manner.

The local representatives of the National Eclipse Committee in Yucatan, Campeche and Quintana Roo have prepared a complete massive training program for teaching staff at the basic and upper secondary levels, said Dr. Raúl Mújica of the National Committee. The training will take place on October 14 and 15 and will include talks and workshops for teachers.

The activities began on Friday, October 14 at 10:00 AM with a press conference where the local committees that will be responsible for organizing the observation of the annular eclipse of 2023 in each of these three states were presented.

The same day, in the afternoon, there is the following program:

17:00 Welcome and presentation of the National Committee and Local Committees
17:20 Lecture: Heading for the 2023 and 2024 eclipses (Dr. Raúl Mújica, INAOE)
17:45 Lecture: Pre-Hispanic Eclipses (Dr. Jesús Galindo, IIE-UNAM)
18:45 Recess
19:00 Conference: Where does the Moon come from (Dr. Luis Aguilar-IA-UNAM-Ensenada)

The aforementioned conferences will be given online to groups of teachers who have previously registered in 10 different venues (5 in Yucatán, 4 in Quintana Roo and one in Campeche).
On Saturday the 15th, face-to-face training workshops will be given to teachers in the following locations: Yucatán (Mérida, Hunucmá and Maxcanú), Quintana Roo (Playa del Carmen, Cancún, Cozumel and Chetumal), and Campeche (Ecosur). With these workshops, the teaching staff will learn safe methods of indirect observation of eclipses, so that, even without having equipment to make these observations, their students and themselves can enjoy them.

The National Eclipses Committee Mexico invites the general public to prepare to observe the eclipse of October 14, 2023 safely, following the recommendations and safe observation methods shared on its website and social networks.

The annular eclipse of October 14, 2023 will be the prelude to the total solar eclipse that will be seen in Mexico on April 8, 2024, and for which the National Eclipses Committee of Mexico is also preparing a series of activities to promote observation sure of these unmissable and spectacular astronomical phenomena.

More information: www.eclipsesmexico.mx