A partial solar eclipse is set for Thursday, October 23.
The celestial event is of particular interest because it will be widely visible in the United States and Canada.
The eclipse will be visible in many big cities. It will start in the afternoon.
Start times (pdf) in key cities include 5:49 p.m. EDT in New York City, 5:52 p.m. in Washington, D.C.,4:48 p.m. CDT in Dallas, and 3:18 p.m. MDT in Denver.
The eclipse will last for about an hour.
“It’s a partial solar eclipse,” explained longtime NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak. In other words, the New Moon is going to ’take a bite' out of the sun.
“A total eclipse is when the Moon passes directly in front of the sun, completely hiding the solar disk and allowing the sun’s ghostly corona to spring into view. A partial eclipse is when the Moon passes in front of the sun, off-center, with a fraction of the bright disk remaining uncovered,” NASA said.
Everyone in North America will be able to see the eclipse, weather permitting.
“Observers in the Central Time zone have the best view because the eclipse is in its maximum phase at sunset,” says Espenak. “They will see a fiery crescent sinking below the horizon, dimmed to human visibility by low-hanging clouds and mist.”
