Great American Ring of Fire 2023 Oct 14
From Sand Sheff's New Book:
Eclipse Witness-Supernatural Patterns in the Cosmic Clock
Astronomical facts about the Oct. 14 2023 eclipse:
• Type of eclipse: Annular (Ring of Fire)
• Saros Number 134
• Duration of totality along center line of maximum eclipse: 5 minutes 17 seconds
maximum just off coast of Nicaragua
• length of path: perhaps 9000 miles long or so
• width of path, roughly 125 miles wide
• Zodiac: in constellation Libra
2023 is the Second of Three American eclipses in Seven Years
The illustration shows how balanced the path itself appears in relation to North and South America. It is the most balanced eclipse path between the continents since Europeans arrived in 1492.
October 14 Facts and Peculiarities
Almost Columbus Day: October 14 2023 is 531 years and two days from the “discovery” of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. 48% sun coverage at his landing site in San Salvador Bahamas.
Anniversary of First Crime of Conquistadors: Oct 14 2023 is the exact 531st anniversary (Oct 14 1492) of Columbus' abduction of 7 native youth to serve as guides; the first colonial crime in the Americas.
The Metonic just left Columbus Day: The last complete eclipse on this eclipse Metonic occurred on Oct 12 1977, the 485th anniversary of Columbus Day. That total eclipse began over open ocean and traversed no land until it crossed Colombia, the only nation on earth named for the explorer.
Eisenhower vs. Hitler Rematch: 2023 Oct 14 is the 133rd Birthday of Dwight Eisenhower, born October 14 1890. Another complete eclipse occurred six months earlier on Adolf Hitler's 134th birthday on April 20. He was born April 20 1889. Eisenhower and Hitler were enemies in World War Two.
Peculiar distance from Mayan Apocalypse: 2023 Oct 14 is exactly 555.5 eclipse years from the “Mayan Apocalypse” total eclipse of August 8 1496 (Saros 127) which brought terror to the Aztec and Mayan tribes just as Spanish Conquistadors were arriving.
Extended Peculiarities of October 14 2023 Ring of Fire
North and South America: This is the first complete solar eclipse to connect the USA and South America (including full annularity at Panama Canal) since the USA's founding in 1776. The path connects North and South America with a complete Solar Eclipse for the first time since Oct 13 1632—391 years and one day before this Oct 14 2023 eclipse. The path touches 9 nations, a difficult geographic tightrope, perhaps the most ever for an eclipse in the Western hemisphere.
Latitude coincidence: The beginning spot of the eclipse in the Pacific Ocean is approximately 49.5 degrees latitude, which is also the same as the northernmost latitude of the northern boundary of the contiguous USA, 49.5 degrees at Angle Inlet, Minnesota.
Lincoln Anniversary: The 2023 eclipse enters the USA 10 miles south of Lincoln City Oregon exactly 167 eclipse years (57,879 days) after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14/15 1865.
Oregon: Newport, Oregon and a few other small settlements occupy the only tiny strip of land to receive complete eclipses in both the 2017 Aug 21 total and 2023 ring of fire solar eclipses. Salem just misses annularity. Eugene is in path.
Nevada: Annularity misses Las Vegas by a hundred miles (but still has 82 % coverage).
Utah: The eclipse crosses Utah, staying south. where it passes over several national parks and monuments including Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands and Bears Ears. Only small towns are in the path.
Colorado: Extreme SW Colorado in path, including Cortez. Anasazi ruins of Mesa Verde are in path.
Navajo Nation: Eclipse path crosses 3 of the four sacred Navajo Mountains (“corners of the Navajo Universe”)- Navajo Mountain in Utah, Mount Taylor in New Mexico and Hesperus in Colorado. Passes over Window Rock, Arizona—capitol of the Navajo Nation.
Path covers the entirety of Lake Powell in Utah, site of the damming of the Colorado River canyon system, perhaps the greatest ecological catastrophe in the history of America.
It passes over the center of the cross of the Four Corners, the only place in the USA ( and the world?) where state political boundaries form a cross.
New Mexico. Annularity includes Chaco Canyon; ceremonial center of the lost Anasazi civilization. Acoma Pueblo is in Annularity, the oldest continuously inhabited village in North America (since 1150 AD). Eclipse passes over Santa Fe—the oldest and highest capitol city in America. Annularity in Albuquerque. Path crosses Los Alamos NM Laboratory (birthplace of Atom Bomb) and Roswell, NM where “flying saucer” event occurred in 1947, and real space aliens have shops on Main Street.
Oct 14 2023 in Texas:
Midland Again: Path heads over West Texas, crosses Midland, home of George HW Bush's oil business in the 1950's and the boyhood home of George W. Bush. Second USA annular eclipse in a row to touch Midland (and third in a row to directly impact it).
Columbus and Midland: May 20 2012 ring of fire ended at sunset over Midland, making Columbus Death day (May 20) and Columbus Crime Day (Oct 14) anniversaries enshrined in consecutive Ring of Fire eclipses both crossing Midland. The two Midland rings of fires are exactly 12 eclipse years apart.
Intersection with 2024 Total: The path intersects with upcoming 2024 April 8 eclipse path in the hill country west of San Antonio. Apex of intersection is just north of the town of Utopia. Exact apex appears to be Sabinal River south of Lost Maples State Park. Sabinal means “Cypresses” in Spanish. Exact Apex is near Piece of Heaven RV park and Hacienda Del Sol (Plantation of the Sun) Cabins.
Uvalde: The town of Uvalde, where 19 children were massacred in 2022, is in path of both eclipses.
San Antonio: is in Annularity, the largest city in the nation to receive annularity in this eclipse.
The Body of Christ: Perhaps most striking of all, precise centerline of eclipse path exits the USA directly over Corpus Christi, or “Body of Christ”, one of the only towns named that in the world.
Central America: Annularity in every nation in Central America except El Salvador (the Savior).
South America: Of course, being a Columbus Anniversary Eclipse, the path bisects the nation of Colombia.
Brazil: The Ring of Fire crosses the northern entirety of the Brazilian state of Amazonas to exit the Americas at city of Natal (Nativity), very near the extreme northeastern tip of South America, the closest spot in the Americas to Europe. The eclipse also covers city of Joao Pessoa, the easternmost spot in all the Americas and the 3rd oldest city in Brazil.
Saros 134 Recent History and Character
Saros are repeating characters (every 18 years 11 days and 8 hours- or 19 eclipse years). Saros 134 creates the October 14 2023 Great American Ring of Fire.
Here are the last 5 eclipses for Saros 134 - see them go backwards 18 years at a time:
• 2005 October 3-Madrid Ring of Fire: Madrid Spain directly in Totality, along with Algiers...path cuts through Africa, including Kenya.
• 1987 Sep 23- USSR Fall Equinox: 7 weeks before Estonia became the first state of USSR to declare its independence. Eclipse also over China.
• 1969 September 11- South America: Just missing the northern border of Chile, where a CIA coup ousts and kills President Salvador Allende four years later on September 11th 1973. 9-11 Metonic's first appearance in centuries.
• 1951 Sep 1 -Jamestown, Virginia to Africa Ring of Fire: Eclipse path traces path of the first slaves brought by British colonists on 8-20- 1619 back to their homeland of Angola 331 years and 11 days later -see also 7-11-1619 Luanda Angola Eclipse
• 1933 Aug 21 Jerusalem Ring of Fire -one of the most ominous eclipses of the 29th century. Eclipse over Jerusalem as Nazis rise to power in Germany.
