Annular Solar Eclipse Photos From Viewers In Oklahoma

An annular solar eclipse that was seen overhead Oklahoma on Saturday had thousands peering into the sky to witness the natural phenomenon.

The moon could be seen blocking the sun in the morning from about 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with about 70-80% coverage in the state.

News 9 and News On 6 viewers submitted several photos to share for social media, check them out below!

Image Provided By: Kimberley Thresher

Image Provided By: JR Haughn

Image Provided By: Lorie, Robert Brown

Image Provided By: Easton Lierle

Image Provided By: Andrea Hornback

Image Provided By: Keith Jackson

Image Provided By: Chance James

What Is A Solar Eclipse?

A solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, temporarily blocking sunlight and casting a shadow onto the earth.

This weekend’s eclipse is an annular eclipse, according to CNN. An annular eclipse creates the ‘ring of fire’ effect, where the moon moves into the center of the sun, blocking all but the outer edge of light.

Why You Shouldn’t Look Directly At An Eclipse

Because the sun is not completely blocked by the moon during an annular eclipse, looking directly at the eclipse could harm your eyes.

“Exposing your eyes to the sun without proper eye protection during a solar eclipse can cause “eclipse blindness” or retinal burns, also known as solar retinopathy. This exposure to the light can cause damage or even destroy cells in the retina (the back of the eye) that transmit what you see to the brain,” Prevent Blindness says.

How To Safely View An Eclipse

Many people use eclipse glasses or solar viewers, which are thousands of times darker than regular sunglasses, according to NASA. Eclipse glasses or solar viewers should be ISO 12312-2 compliant, view more about this here. Some Metro libraries are handing out free solar eclipse glasses, while supplies last.

Welder’s glass and mylar filters are also dark enough to safely view an eclipse through, according to Prevent Blindness.

You can also view the solar eclipse indirectly. Many people recommend pinhole projections or pinhole viewers, which are pieces of paper or cardboard that have a hole in them that cast a shadow of the eclipse. This effect is also easy to spot in tree leaves.