mick laBriola

Cheers erupted among crowds in Oregon and New Mexico on Saturday as a rare “ring of fire” eclipse of the sun that had millions across the Americas waiting with anticipation began putting on a spectacular show.

With the presence of cloudy skies, a NASA livestream of the phenomenon reported it in Eugene, Oregon, shortly after 9:15 a.m. local time. This came over an hour after a partial eclipse set in.

For the small towns and cities along its narrow path, there was a mix of excitement, worries about the weather and concerns they’d be overwhelmed by visitors flocking to see the celestial event, also called an annular solar eclipse. Clouds and fog threatened to obscure the view of the eclipse in some western states, including California and Oregon.

As totality began in Eugene, Oregon, oohs and ahs combined with groans of disappointment as the eclipse was intermittently visible, the sun’s light poking through the cloud cover from behind the moon only at times.

In New Mexico, the sky was crystal clear, giving tens of thousands of spectators an unfettered view. They got a double treat since the eclipse coincided with an international balloon fiesta that draws close to 100,000 spectators for early morning mass ascensions of hundreds of colorful hot air balloons.

The moon crosses in front of the sun during the annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, as seen from the Astronomical Observatory of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) in Tegucigalpa. (Photo by Orlando SIERRA / AFP) (Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP via Getty Images)

Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abàmì Ẹ̀dá, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the King of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre that combines West African music with American funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa’s most “challenging and charismatic music performers”. AllMusic described him as “a musical and sociopolitical voice” of international significance.

Kuti was the son of Nigerian women’s rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. After early experiences abroad, he and his band Africa 70 (featuring drummer and musical director Tony Allen) shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, during which he was an outspoken critic and target of Nigeria’s military juntas. In 1970, he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. The commune was destroyed in a 1978 raid that injured Kuti and his mother. He was jailed by the government of Muhammadu Buhari in 1984, but released after 20 months. He continued to record and perform through the 1980s and 1990s. Since his death in 1997, reissues and compilations of his music have been overseen by his son, Femi Kuti. On 3 August 1997, Kuti’s brother Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, already a prominent AIDS activist and former Minister of Health, announced that Kuti had died on the previous day from complications related to AIDS. Kuti had been an AIDS denialist, and his widow maintained that he did not die of AIDS. His youngest son Seun took the role of leading Kuti’s former band Egypt 80. As of 2022, the band is still active, releasing music under the moniker Seun Kuti & Egypt 80.

A rare “ring of fire” eclipse of the sun cuts across the Americas on Saturday, stretching from Oregon to Brazil, and huge crowds were on the move before dawn in cities, rural areas and national parks to try to catch a glimpse of it.

For the small towns and cities along its narrow path, there was a mix of excitement, worries about the weather and concerns they’d be overwhelmed by visitors flocking to see the celestial event, also called an annular solar eclipse. Clouds and fog threatened to obscure the view of the eclipse in some western states, including California and Oregon.

Unlike a total solar eclipse, the moon doesn’t completely cover the sun during a ring of fire eclipse. When the moon lines up between Earth and the sun, it leaves a bright, blazing border.

Gorgeous spiral galaxy Messier 33 seems to have more than its fair share of glowing hydrogen gas. A prominent member of the local group of galaxies, M33 is also known as the Triangulum Galaxy and lies a mere 3 million light-years away. The galaxy’s central 30,000 light-years or so are shown in this sharp galaxy portrait. The portrait features M33’s reddish ionized hydrogen clouds or HII regions. Sprawling along loose spiral arms that wind toward the core, M33’s giant HII regions are some of the largest known stellar nurseries, sites of the formation of short-lived but very massive stars. Intense ultraviolet radiation from the luminous, massive stars ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas and ultimately produces the characteristic red glow. In this image, broadband data were combined with narrowband data recorded through a hydrogen-alpha filter. That filter transmits the light of the strongest visible hydrogen emission line.

Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. One of the most celebrated artists of the twentieth century, Simon’s career spans six decades. Born in New Jersey, Simon grew up in Queens, New York City, and developed an interest in rock music in his teens.

He began performing with his schoolfriend Art Garfunkel in 1956. They came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel. Their blend of folk and rock, in hits such as “The Sound of Silence“, “Mrs. Robinson“, “America” and “The Boxer“, served as a soundtrack to the counterculture movement. Their final album before disbanding, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), is among the bestselling of all time. In his solo career, Simon has explored genres including gospel, reggae and soul. His celebrated 1970s output—comprising Paul Simon (1972), There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973), and Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)—kept him in the public spotlight and drew acclaim, producing the hits “Mother and Child Reunion“, “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard“, and “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover“. Simon has reunited with Garfunkel for several tours, including the 1981 Concert in Central Park.

Graceland (1986) is Simon’s most successful and acclaimed album, incorporating worldbeat styles. Its single “You Can Call Me Al” became one of Simon’s most successful. It was followed by The Rhythm of the Saints(1990), and a second Concert in the Park, without Garfunkel, in 1991, attended by half a million people. Simon wrote a Broadway musical, The Capeman (1998), which was poorly received. In the 21st century, Simon continued to record and tour. His later albums, such as You’re the One (2000), So Beautiful or So What (2011), and Stranger to Stranger (2016), have introduced him to new generations. Though he retired from touring in 2018, Simon continues to record music and his album Seven Psalms was released in May 2023.

Simon is among the most acclaimed musicians in popular music, and one of the world’s best-selling music artists, both for his solo work and with Garfunkel. He is a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has been the recipient of sixteen Grammy Awards, including three for Album of the Year. Two of his works, Sounds of Silence and Graceland, have seen induction into National Recording Registry for their cultural significance, and in 2007, the Library of Congress crowned him the inaugural winner of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. He is a co-founder of the Children’s Health Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides medical care to children.