COLUMBIA, S.C. — An exciting astronomical event will be taking place in our sky this weekend. The Moon will be passing over the Sun in what is known as a Solar Eclipse. During a solar eclipse, the Moon is located between the Sun and the Earth. This causes the Moon to cover the Sun in our sky.
The Moon travels in an oval-shaped orbit. This means that the Moon can appear smaller or larger in our sky. On Saturday it will appear smaller since it is further away in the orbit. This will cause the Moon to not totally cover the Sun in what is known as an annular eclipse.
This “Ring of Fire” appearance will be visible out in the Western U.S. Closer to home, we will see a partial solar eclipse in the midday hours on Saturday.
We are expecting around a 45 percent coverage of the Sun as the Moon passes by.
**IMPORTANT** If you are viewing the eclipse make sure to have a pair of solar eclipse glasses or you will risk permanent eye damage.
Timing for this event begins around 11:50 AM and the eclipse will hit maximum for us around 1:18 PM. The partial eclipse will end around 2:48 PM.
As for weather conditions, a cold front will be exiting the region. This will mean we will have some clouds but overall, partly cloudy conditions should provide decent views of the Eclipse for us here in South Carolina. We will need to watch closely though because any delay in this front would increase cloud cover chances for us.
The next visible Solar Eclipse here in the Midlands will be April 8th of next year if you happen to miss Saturday’s eclipse.