Total Eclipse, Oct. 14, 2023

There will be an annular eclipse of the sun on October 14, 2023. The centerline of the penumbra will travel just north of the densely populated Mexican Hat urban metropolitan area in Southern Utah beginning at around 9:00 am and will end around noon.

Google Maps - Mexican Hat, Utah
Mexican Hat Metro Area

An annular eclipse is produced when the moon is further away from the earth in its orbit and does not cover the entire orb of the sun at eclipse totality; a ring of sun is left surrounding the moon. The eclipse of May 20, 2012, was an annular eclipse. I took this photo just south of Page, AZ at totality. If you click the image and view it full-sized on a large screen, you'll be able to see lunar highlands on the right-hand side of the image, as well as solar activity around the edge of the sun:

Annular Eclipse, May 20, 2012

I also viewed the "Great American Eclipse", which was the first total eclipse visible from North America in close to 100 years, on August 21, 2017. Here's a telling of that tale.

Great American Eclipse, August 21, 2017

Total Eclipse, Aug. 21, 2017 - (Regulus in lower-left)

Path of October 14, 2023 Eclipse

Path of the October 14, 2023 Eclipse
Path of the Oct. 14, 2023 Eclipse

Local Circumstances, Valley of the Gods B&B:

Eclipse data directly at Valley of the Gods B&B

The center of the penumbra travels almost exactly 0.5 miles north of Valley of the Gods B&B so there really isn't any difference in length of totality between being on the center line or at the B&B. The times listed in the chart are Universal Time. Local times in Mexican Hat will be:

Start of partial eclipse: 9:10:25.2 AM
Start of annular eclipse: 10:29:16.9 AM
Maximum eclipse: 10:31:40.7 AM
End of annular eclipse: 10:34:04.4 AM
End of partial eclipse: 12:01:34.3 PM

Possible photo-op location: 

If we stay at the Valley of the Gods B&B there won't be any need to travel the mile or so down the road to the centerline. Leaving the image here for the detail it shows. 

Eclipse speed: The speed of an eclipse is determined by the earth's rotational speed at the latitude you happen to be observing from. At the equator, the rotation speed is 1037 miles per hour. That speed decreases with distance from the equator by the cosine of your latitude. At 37º 15' 58.05' North Latitude, which is the latitude at the intersection of the eclipse centerline and Valley of the Gods Road in the image, the equation would be:

cos (37.26612500) = 0.7958316 x 1037 = 825.18 MPH.