I was very fortunate to travel with friends to be on the exact centerline of the Oct. 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.
We gathered at the campground two days before the eclipse and woke up at 4:15 am the day-of to beat the crowd at the entrance gate. We managed to secure the locations we had scouted out the day before. It was amazing to experience the eclipse among the sacred great houses of Chaco. We set up by the one called Pueblo Bonito, which has stood for over 1,100 years.
At full eclipse, the moon was centered within the sun, and we saw the “ring of fire” typical of an annular eclipse. The symmetry of the circle was incredible. Looking through the eclipse glasses at the ring in the sky was memorable, we had over four minutes to see this incredible celestial alignment.
