How to view the solar eclipse: What you'll see, where and when
When the moon blocks the sun on Aug. 21, all eyes will be on the sky. Here's what you'll see, depending on where you are.
Posted — UpdatedIn central and eastern North Carolina
You’ve probably read about how dark it gets during a total eclipse. It won't get that dark in central and eastern North Carolina where only a partial eclipse will be visible. In and around the Triangle, about 92 percent of the sun will be blocked (obscuration). That number goes down as you move northeast. Roanoke Rapids will see about 90 percent obscuration while the northern most portions of the outer banks only about 85 percent.
About 60 minutes before totality, the moon makes first contact (C1) as it begins to cover the right side of the sun. You won't notice any anything at once on the ground; it is still very bright out. Over the next 40 minutes, the moon takes a greater bite, forming a crescent sun. Be sure to look a couple of times during this period.
In the path of totality
If you are in the path of totality, the experience will be much different. It will get dark enough to experience these events during the eclipse:
Watch as they disappear one by one. Totality has begun, and you can (and should) take your eclipse glasses off.
Look to the horizon for a 360-degree sunrise. You are standing in the umbral, or darkest part of the moon’s shadow. That glow is the penumbra or lighter part of the shadow where observers are still seeing a partial eclipse.
More stars and planets will appear. Jupiter is to the left and down, Mercury to its right, then the eclipsed sun followed by Mars and Venus. Note the line the planets are in along in the sky. This is the ecliptic, the plane each planet in the solar system follows as it orbits the sun. This is the same line the sun follows through the sky. Take a moment to note the angle of that line, this Earth’s axial tilt, the reason for our seasons, on display right before your eyes.
Look to the left potion of the chromosphere, the transition between the bright chromosphere and the dimmer but brilliant corona. Fiery loops of hot pink light may leap off the moon's surface. These are prominences, magnetic fields filled with very dense material.
The sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, is on full display now. Appearing like a brilliant sunflower, the corona, Latin for crown, appears irregular in shape and size. While it may look more serene than the bright photosphere, the corona is about 1 million degrees. the photosphere we are used to seeing is less than 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Also look for helmet streamers, lines extending out and meeting to form helmet or petal shapes.
As the right edge of the moon begins to brighten, totality’s end is seconds away. Time to put your glasses back on.
If you missed anything, you will have another chance to look for it. Each of the steps above happens again in reverse as the moon moves away from the Sun.
If it is cloudy
Even if the eclipse is completely clouded out, Dr. Tony Phillips, editor of Spaceweather.com says, "Even a cloudy eclipse is off the scale." The clouds can act as a natural filter, even displaying the crescent sun like a movie screen in the right conditions. In the path of totality, the reduced air temperature is felt, animals still react and the scene takes on an even more "otherworldly" tone according to Philips.
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