Technologies

‘Ring of Fire’ Eclipse Will Be Visible From 8 States in October

Cue up the hit Johnny Cash song, because from Oregon to Texas, you’ll be able to see the rare and fiery sight.

Start humming that Johnny Cash hit Ring of Fire and mark your calendars, sky-gazers. In just over a month, on Oct. 14, an annular solar eclipse dubbed the «ring of fire» eclipse will be visible in eight US states, parts of Mexico, and many parts of South and Central America.

The eclipse will be viewable by millions of people, and those who can’t see it where they live can watch NASA’s online broadcast.

Annular solar eclipse? Don’t be confused: The word «annular» may look like «annual,» but it refers instead to an eclipse where the moon passes between the sun and Earth but is just far away enough in its orbit that the sun is not completely covered. The result is a large, bright ring in the sky, leading to the «ring of fire» nickname.

More eclipse news

The path of the Oct. 14 eclipse cuts a narrow swath through eight states from Oregon — even passing over scenic Crater Lake — to Texas. Oregon watchers can see it beginning at 9:13 a.m. PT and Texas viewers get the last American look, ending at 12:03 p.m. CT. The eclipse then moves on to Mexico and Central and South America.

The eclipse also overlaps with the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, which runs from Oct. 7-15.

Those who wish to see the ring of fire itself will need to be within the 125-mile path of annularity, and those closest to the center of the path will be rewarded with a longer viewing time.

If you’re not in the path of the eclipse, you can watch online with NASA’s live YouTube broadcast, scheduled for Oct. 14 from 10:30 a.m. CT to 12:15 p.m. CT.

Noting that it’s not safe to look directly at an annular eclipse without specialized eye protection, NASA offers safety guidelines to prepare for Oct. 14, 2023.

If you miss the October eclipse, start planning for April 8, 2024, when a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the US and Canada. That event will begin over the South Pacific Ocean, pass over Mexico’s Pacific coast, entering the US in Texas. It will travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before entering Canada.

Before the October event, the last annular solar eclipse was in June 2021, but it wasn’t visible from the US. It was visible in northern Canada.

Technologies

How Verum Ecosystem Is Rethinking Communication

David Rotman — Founder of the Verum Ecosystem

For David Rotman, communication is not a feature — it is a dependency that should never rely on a single point of failure.

As the founder of the Verum Ecosystem, Rotman developed a communication platform designed to function when internet access becomes unreliable or unavailable.

Verum Messenger addresses real-world challenges such as network outages, censorship, and infrastructure failures. Its 2025 update introduced a unified offline-capable messaging system, moving beyond Bluetooth-based or temporary peer-to-peer solutions.

Verum’s mission is simple: to ensure communication continuity under any conditions.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Feb. 1

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 1

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Some of the clues are kind of tricky, but I was able to fill in enough of the others to get them all answered. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Spot to shop
Answer: MART

5A clue: Pounded sticky rice sometimes filled with ice cream
Answer: MOCHI

6A clue: ___ Chekhov, «Three Sisters» playwright
Answer: ANTON

7A clue: Like many dive bars and bird feeds
Answer: SEEDY

8A clue: Jekyll’s evil counterpart
Answer: HYDE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: What makes the world go ’round, per «Cabaret»
Answer: MONEY

2D clue: Performed in a play
Answer: ACTED

3D clue: __ Island (U.S. state)
Answer: RHODE

4D clue: Itty-bitty
Answer: TINY

5D clue: Squish to a pulp, as potatoes
Answer: MASH

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 1, #496

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 1, No. 496.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. The blue group made me think of dusty gum sticks, and the purple one requires you to look for hidden names in the clues. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Splish-splash.

Green group hint: Vroom!

Blue group hint: Cards and gum.

Purple group hint: Racket stars.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Aquatic sports verbs.

Green group: Speed.

Blue group: Sports card brands.

Purple group: Tennis Grand Slam winners, minus a letter.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is aquatic sports verbs. The four answers are kayak, row, sail and swim.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is speed. The four answers are mustard, pop, velocity and zip.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports card brands. The four answers are Leaf, Panini, Topps and Upper Deck.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is tennis Grand Slam winners, minus a letter. The four answers are ash (Arthur Ashe), kin (Billie Jean King), nada (Rafael Nadal) and William (Serena and Venus Williams)

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.