The keyword to the Oct. 14, 2023, ring-of-fire solar eclipse is — solar.

Solar — sun — do not look directly at it without proper protection for your eyes.

The ring-of-fire solar eclipse will sweep across North America for the first time in 11 years on Oct. 14, 2023.

On that date, the moon will pass between the sun and the Earth. Because the moon is farther away from Earth “than on average,” it will appear smaller than the sun and create the “ring of fire effect,” according to NASA. The ring-of-fire eclipse is what is called an annular eclipse.

The sun will not be completely covered so anyone viewing the eclipse should wear “proper eye protection.”

Proper protection does not mean the sunglasses you use every day or binoculars.

“Do NOT look at the sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury,” said NASA.

Safe solar viewers have special filters and eclipse glasses “are thousands of times darker” than regular sunglasses.

Viewers also can use a pinhole projector — such as a hole punched in an index card — to project the image of the sun onto a nearby surface. Instructions on how to make a pinhole projector are available online, including from NASA.

“With the sun at your back, you can then safely view the projected image. Do NOT look at the sun through the pinhole,” NASA said.

On Oct. 14, according to NASA, people in eight states from Oregon to Texas will be able to see the ring-of-fire eclipse while others “will still be able to see a partial solar eclipse if weather conditions are right.”

The ring-of-fire eclipse will start just after 9 a.m. in Oregon in the Pacific Time Zone, which is just after noon here. It will all be over by 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.

But, if you can’t plan a vacation to the West Coast, you will be able to see it live streamed by San Francisco’s Exploratorium and timeanddate.com.

The Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown also will hold a special event from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 14 that will include guests speakers and special telescopes set up for safe viewing. The speakers will include Jared Isaacman, who is training for the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission.

The center said it will have eclipse glasses available to purchase in its gift shop. It also will teach guests how to make their own pinhole viewer in its labs from 10 a.m. to noon.

According to NASA, the ring-of-fire eclipse will extend into Mexico, Central America and South America.

This will be the first annular eclipse since 2012.

“On Oct. 14, 2023, the annular eclipse will begin in the United States, traveling from the coast of Oregon to the Texas Gulf Coast. Weather permitting, the annular eclipse will be visible in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as some parts of California, Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona.”

Once you are ready to view the Oct. 14 ring-of-fire eclipse safely, hang on to your eclipse glasses or pinhole projectors.

A total solar eclipse is coming on April 8, 2024. It will hit parts of 13 U.S. states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Cities in its path include Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis; Cleveland and Buffalo, New York.