Do you still have some solar eclipse glasses laying around from 2017? If they're still in good shape, you can put them to use Thursday morning.
This time around, it's not a total eclipse. According to NASA.gov, "the moon is far enough away from the Earth that the moon appears smaller than the sun in the sky." The result is a glowing "ring" of the sun around the moon.
Central Indiana, however, will be on the edge of being able to view the solar eclipse. That means we'll only notice about 20% of the sun being blocked by the moon.
You'll need to be an early riser to catch a glimpse of the partial eclipse. The viewing window across central Indiana will last about 19 minutes from 6:16 a.m. to 6:35 a.m. Thursday.
With this occurring around sunrise, you'll need a clear view of the horizon. Remember, you shouldn't look directly at the sun, unless you have eclipse glasses. You can also safely view the eclipse from Canada via a live stream on NASA.gov/live.
Mark your calendars! The next total solar eclipse happens on April 8, 2024. Central Indiana will have great viewing of totality for that one...clouds willing!
We should get at least a partial view of Thursday's partial eclipse. It all comes down to cloud cover. We are forecasting some breaks in the clouds Thursday morning, before mostly cloudy skies take over again.
