How To Watch The 'Ring Of Fire' Solar Eclipse On June 10
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - This week the sun and moon will work in tandem to serve up a feast for the eyes. Set a reminder for Thursday, June 10, so you don't miss the "Ring of Fire" solar eclipse. This partial or annular solar eclipse will be created as the moon passes in front of the sun.
On this date, however, the moon on its elliptical orbit of the Earth will be positioned too far from the gazes of Earthlings to completely cover over the sun. This will leave visible a bright annulus, or ring, around the moon's silhouette at mid-eclipse. This effect inspired the name "ring of fire" eclipse.
Not everyone in the U.S. will be lucky enough to witness this exhilarating phenomenon, but we in the Delaware Valley will! The annular solar eclipse will be visible across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and portions of the Southeast and Midwest, and Northern Alaska. In greater Philadelphia, the celestial event will be in progress at sunrise, but the maximum eclipse will occur after sunrise.
The eclipse will last for approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes in total. The eclipse path begins in Ontario, Canada then circles across the Earth's northern latitudes. At the path's midpoint, the greatest eclipse will occur over northern Greenland at noon local time. Afterward, the annular eclipse path passes over the North Pole and ends at sunset over northeastern Siberia.
Remember, it is never safe to look directly at the sun, even in the case of a partial eclipse. When observing, you must wear solar viewing or eclipse glasses throughout the entire eclipse. Regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the sun. You can use an indirect method, such as a pinhole projector. Pinhole projectors shouldn't be used to look directly at the Sun, but instead to project sunlight onto a surface.
Sunrise on June 10 in Philadelphia is at 5:32 am. Happy viewing!
Watch virtually here: