The solar eclipse won’t achieve totality over California Monday morning, but locals will still see a partial eclipse, with a little more than half the sun partially obscured by the moon.
The county is expected have one of the state’s best views of Monday’s rare solar eclipse, weather permitting. It will begin at 10:03 a.m., when the moon appears to nibble at the sun’s edge.
No place in California will see the total solar eclipse, which will darken skies along a 115-mile-wide path across North America, but San Diego, Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties will get close to a 60% eclipse in their easternmost extremities.
The total eclipse, where the moon fully blocks the light of the sun for several minutes, will make landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast and cross into Texas and 14 other U.S. states, before exiting over Canada.
San Diego’s Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park will host a free solar-eclipse viewing party in front of the Bea Evenson Fountain starting at 9 a.m. Monday. The center will have NASA 3-D eclipse glasses for sale and an IMAX live stream of the total eclipse.
The climax, when the moon is closest to the center of the sun — covering about 54% of the sun’s diameter — will be partially visible from San Diego at 11:11 a.m.
Viewers will see the most exciting moments between 10:45 and 11:45 a.m., with the eclipse concluding at 12:23 p.m. when the moon leaves the sun’s opposite edge.
Local astronomy and eclipse experts from UC San Diego, San Diego State and the San Diego Astronomy Association will be available to answer questions, and hands-on demonstration stations will feature crafting eclipse projectors.
At 10 a.m., the Julian Dark Sky Network will host an eclipse viewing party at the Julian Library. The free event will include pairs of eclipse viewing glasses as well as solar telescopes set up to view sunspots and solar flares.
Other libraries will host viewing events around the city. More information about those events can be found here.
It is essential to wear proper eye protection when looking at the sun, which can otherwise lead to permanent eye damage. The eclipse is only safe to witness with the naked eye during totality, or the period of total darkness when the moon completely covers the sun — which will not happen over California this time around.
Experts also cautioned that regular sunglasses are not protective enough.
The moon will shroud the sun for up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds Monday. The celestial event is expected to draw millions of people to cities and towns in the path of the totality.
The next partial eclipse visible in San Diego is almost five years away, arriving Jan. 14, 2029. The U.S. won’t see another total eclipse after that until 2044.
City News Service contributed to this report.
