If you kept your eclipse glasses from 2017 in a safe place, they may be okay to use. Check them for creases, holes or tears, then use a bright indoor light to test them before looking at the Sun. This NASA video shows you how to check your glasses for safety. When in doubt throw them out.

Locally, eclipse glasses can be purchased at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. The gift shop and box office are open from 2:30 pm. to 6 p.m. on Friday and beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Viewing without eclipse glasses

You probably have everything you need to safely view the eclipse in your kitchen.

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The same colander you use to drain your spaghetti can be an eclipse viewer, dozens of them in fact. Simply hold it over a smooth surface like a sidewalk, and each hole in the colander will have a tiny eclipse. The you'll see the same effect in light filtered through the trees.

These methods are best used under clear skies which will be challenging for much of the area on Saturday. A pinhole projector is easy to create and can produce a view that is easier to see. You'll need:

  • a cardboard box like a shoe box or cereal boxes work well too
    • scissors
      • some white paper
        • tape
          • a push pin
            • aluminum foil

              This video (adorably) shows you how.

              Both the colander and the pinhole projector are examples of camera obscura, Latin for "dark room."

              When to look

              The partial eclipse begins at 11:57 a.m. in Raleigh, reaches maximum eclipse at 1:20 p.m. and ends at 2:46 p.m. The show shifts a few minutes earlier to the south and east of the Triangle and a few minutes later to the north and west.

              Weather outlook

              Wednesday's clouds are expected to clear by early afternoon Thursday with continued clear skies teasing us through Friday evening.

              Clouds and rain are expected to move in overnight with cloud conditions and scattered showers expected through the first half of the eclipse. Some clearing is forecasted during the last hour of the eclipse, but not much.

              But keep in mind, this is a three hour event. Only completely overcast skies will spoil your chance to see the Moon take a bite out of the Sun. Check back for the occasional hole in the clouds.

              Tune into WRAL at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday for the latest on the clouds and the eclipse, or check back here on WRAL.com

              If the clouds don't corporate, NASA TV will have coverage beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with telescope views of the eclipse from around the country.