SOUTHERN COLORADO — October’s annular solar eclipse has come and gone for Southern Colorado, and some of the photos that have come in are really quite spectacular.

The annular eclipse, sometimes referred to as a ‘ring-of-fire’ eclipse, took place from about 9 am to 12 pm Saturday afternoon. Maximum annularity was reached at about 10:30 am with roughly 86% of the sun being covered by the moon.

This type of eclipse is sometimes referred to as a ‘ring-of-fire’ because of the red ring of sunlight that surrounds the moon – even at maximum annularity. This year was not a total solar eclipse because the moon was just a bit too far away from the Earth this time around.

From left to right: Jake Gardner – Pueblo, Robert Hahn – CO Springs, Daniel Forster – CO Springs

The path of the annular eclipse largely favored the west / southwest side of the United States, and Colorado was lucky enough to have a good position for viewing. Seen below is a map of the eclipse’s path and the maximum annularity that was generally seen across the area.

Notice, the four corners region of Colorado and the surrounding states had a unique opportunity to see the highest percentage of annularity. Weather across the Colorado Springs area was also particularly great with minimal cloud cover and plenty of blue skies.

From left to right: Ryan Matoush – CO Springs, Richard Sniff – Austin TX, Mandy Campbell

It was also very important to have proper eye protection to take a look at the eclipse today; just like Ryan and Taylor seen here! These particular eclipse viewers were courtesy of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society – given to the team when they dropped by to help put together a story with FOX21.

There were also other ways to “see” the eclipse safely if you weren’t able to get your hands on a pair of eclipse glasses this time. Fox21 Chief Meteorologist Matt Meister took this photo of crecent-shaped shadows as the eclipse unfolded above.

If you have any photos you’d like us to add to the story please send them in to the FOX21 news email or submit them through the FOX21 weather app!