Museum Events for the Annular Eclipse of the Sun

A rare and very special event in Albuquerque, an annular eclipse of the sun. It will be visible along a track through New Mexico at mid-morning on October 14, 2023, the last Saturday of this year’s International Balloon Fiesta! Albuquerque is in the exact spot to see the sun become a perfect ring of light (when viewed safely). Get ready for this amazing experience; it won’t be visible again in New Mexico until 2077!

Monday through Friday. October 9-13
Every day from noon to 3pm.
Gear up for the big day with “Solar Family Afternoons” at the Museum.
Hands-on activities, eclipse planetarium show, solar viewing, and a special short talk by a special guest NASA solar expert. There will be a different guest speaker each day who will speak on his or her solar research or other topics such as the ancestral record of sunwatching in Chaco Canyon, and provide information about the sun and upcoming eclipse.
All activities, including the short talk, are free with museum or planetarium admission.

Saturday, October 14.
9am to 2pm. View the annular eclipse from the Museum grounds and come inside to view the event through monitors linked to our own observatory and to NASA live feeds from around the country. Participate in hands-on activities about the Sun and the NASA missions that are intended to study the Sun.
Walk on the Moon with our one-of-a-kind lunar floor map and talk with experts from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter mission. (The Sun AND the Moon are both part of the eclipse story!)
Enjoy a continual planetarium presentation about the event (Note: no regular planetarium programs that day).
The full eclipse period extends from ~9:15am to noon with total annularity at 10:34am that lasts a little over 4 minutes.
At no time during this entire time period is it safe to look directly at the sun without protection. The museum will have solar glasses and viewers on hand.
Before and after the eclipse the museum will offer hands-on activities, real time images of the eclipse around the country from NASA, and continual planetarium presentations. Free with regular museum admission.