Partial solar eclipse Saturday

An annular solar eclipse will occur on Saturday.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun isn’t completely obscured by the moon and a “ring” is still visible around the moon. This is due to the distance between the Earth and Moon, and in this case, the Moon is a bit farther from the Earth than when there is a total solar eclipse.

The path of eclipse will begin to cross the United States in Oregon. It’ll travel through Nevada, Utah, parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and west-central Texas.

In southeast Minnesota and northern Iowa, about 47-50% of the sun will be obstructed by the moon.

The eclipse will start at approximately 10:30 a.m. with maximum eclipse happening around 11:52 a.m. and the event will end around 1:15 p.m.

Unfortunately, clouds and the chance for rain on Saturday morning will likely obstruct any viewing, but some breaks in the clouds could open up some potential. Let’s hope for a few breaks in the clouds here and there to witness this annual solar eclipse.