Solar Eclipses, rare events but can become one of the most beautiful events one can see when they happen. When these events happen thousands of people travel to places where they can see the total eclipse. This year, the eclipse’s path of totality goes through Dallas, Little Rock, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Burlington.

In LA we will expect to see a partial eclipse, around 49-58% of the eclipse from 10 am to 1 pm. It should peak at around 11:12.

How do Solar Eclipses work?

Solar Eclipses occur when the moon aligns with the sun, blocking the sunlight and making it seem night in the middle of the day. When the moon moves in front of the sun, The light can only hit the back, making the moon look like a black circle in the sky slowly covering the sun. It can “cover” the sun because of the perspective we see it, due to the distance of the sun, making it seem smaller, and the closeness of the moon, it seems as if the moon covers the sun.

Differences between eclipses

Many types of eclipses happened but many people consider this year’s eclipse so special because we had a total eclipse which happens every 7 years. When you look at the eclipse you can see what looks like a cloud surrounding the sun called the solar corona.

Scientists consider this year’s eclipse so special because you can see the Solar corona, the sun’s atmosphere.

The other form of the Solar eclipse, the Annular eclipse, the moon does not fully cover the sun because of the distance from Earth. Partial eclipses happen when the moon does not fully align with the sun, only covering part of it.

What do they look like?

LA normally sees partial eclipses, this year we’ll see 58% of an eclipse. Alen said “It was fire” and that he would want to see it again “because it looked like a half-eaten croissant.”

How to view them

When viewing a solar eclipse, it is just as dangerous as the sun on a normal day, so you must wear special eclipse glasses to protect your eyes. These glasses block around 99.99% of the sun and, when made, usually use a special lens and aluminum. When you wear these glasses you need to make sure there are no visible holes and you can’t see anything, you should only see the making it the only thing visible. When looking at the sun, you should wear them the whole time.