I had a lot going on this weekend. I had tickets to photograph the historic Psyche Mission launch from KSC from a special viewing point I didn't want to miss, but it was facing weather delays. I also wanted to make sure to be ready to photograph the entire solar eclipse, start to finish on Saturday. If the launch got delayed to Saturday, I was going to have a mess on my hands. But alas, it all worked out. Even the cloudy skies parted for brief periods during the eclipse, long enough for me to capture some good shots of each phase.

This was the first actual eclipse I witnessed with my own eyes. It was amazing.

This is a compilation of the three hours I stood out in the Florida sun with a good friend of mine while we viewed the eclipse. I shot over 600 images in my excitement. I was at least prepared enough to have the proper solar filter on the end of my 600mm (approx 900mm on my crop sensor Fuji camera) and eclipse glasses so that we could properly enjoy the event.

Had I been even more prepared, I might have planned to be in the path of totality so that I could photograph the "ring of fire" that the annular solar eclipse produces. Sadly, I may not have that chance for many many years now. Next years will only pass over land at the farthest point of South America. The next to pass over this continent will be in 2039.

You see, the word "annular" does not mean every year in this instance, it means "ring shaped".  That meaning comes from the ring of light the moon allows to pass through when it is in totality. 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.

To learn when and where the next annular eclipse will be, click THIS LINK
 

Here are the images I created from the 2023 annular solar eclipse as viewed from North-central Florida, Santa Fe Lake area.

2023 Annular Solar Eclipse, FLAs seen from Lake Santa Fe, Florida, the Annular Solar Eclipse had around 55% coverage. Not a bad view between all the clouds. Eclipse Trio, FLAs seen from Lake Santa Fe, Florida, the Annular Solar Eclipse had around 55% coverage. Not a bad view between all the clouds. Annular EclipseAs seen from Lake Santa Fe, Florida, the artist rendition of the Annular Solar Eclipse had around 55% coverage. Not a bad view between all the clouds.