Contacts: 
 
 Alan M. MacRobert, Senior Editor 
 
 617-864-7360 x2151, amacrobert@SkyandTelescope.com 
 
 J. Kelly Beatty, Senior Contributing Editor 
 
 617-416-9991, jkellybeatty@comcast.net 
 
 Note to Editors/Producers: This release is accompanied by publication-quality graphics and photographs; see details at end. 
 
 Two weeks after seeing a total eclipse of the Moon in the wee hours of October 8th, skywatchers across North America get to witness (weather permitting) a deep partial eclipse of the Sun. 
 
 The event begins near the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Siberia, then moves eastward and deepens as the Moon moves along its orbit. A partial eclipse will be seen everywhere in North America except for New England and Canada's Maritime provinces. The farther north you are, the deeper the eclipse you'll see; the farther west, the higher the Sun and Moon will be in the sky. East of a line from central Texas north through the Dakotas, the partial eclipse will still be in progress as the Sun sets. 
 
 Nowhere will the Sun be completely hidden by the Moon's disk. However, across the northwestern continental U.S. more than half of the Sun's face will be covered, and more than two-thirds will be covered as seen from northern Canada. The eclipse is greatest in Canada's Nunavit Territory near Prince of Wales Island. 
 
 The table below gives local times and circumstances for selected cities (note: times before noon are in bold type, and an asterisk (*) means the eclipse is greatest at sunset). Eclipse specialist Fred Espenak provides tabulations for more cities in the United States and in Canada and Mexico. 
 
 Local Times for October 23rd's Partial Solar Eclipse Cities in U.S. Eclipse begins Mid-eclipse Eclipse ends Max coverage Anchorage 11:55 1:11 2:28 55% Atlanta 6:00 18:53* — 27% Bismarck 4:10 5:27 6:36 56% Chicago 4:36 5:43 sunset 44% Dallas 4:48 5:53 sunset 30% Denver 3:18 4:35 5:44 45% Helena 2:53 4:16 5:31 56% Juneau 12:10 1:31 2:50 61% Los Angeles 2:08 3:28 4:40 34% Miami 6:27 6:45* — 5% Milwaukee 4:33 5:41 sunset 46% New York 5:49 6:03* — 7% Phoenix 2:21 3:38 4:45 33% San Francisco 1:52 3:15 4:32 39% Seattle 1:35 3:00 4:20 54% St. Paul 4:23 5:35 sunset 52% Washington 5:52 6:17* — 16% Cities in Canada Eclipse begins Mid-eclipse Eclipse ends Max coverage Calgary 2:43 4:06 5:22 61% Regina 3:58 5:17 6:29 61% Toronto 5:39 6:20* — 32% Vancouver 1:32 2:57 4:16 56% Winnipeg 4:08 5:24 sunset 60% 
 
 How To View Safely; What You'll See 
 
 Unlike a total solar eclipse, which is visible only from a narrow track somewhere across Earth's surface, a partial solar eclipse can be viewed from a wide geographic area. It is a slow-motion event, as the Moon typically takes more than 2 hours to cross the Sun's disk. 
 
 Anyone watching the solar eclipse should do so very carefully. "Looking directly at the Sun is harmful to your eyes at any time, partial eclipse or no," explains Alan MacRobert of Sky & Telescope magazine. "The only reason a partial eclipse is dangerous is that it prompts people to gaze at the Sun, something they wouldn't normally do. The result can be temporary or permanent blurred vision or blind spots at the center of your view." 
 
 Fortunately, there are many easy ways to watch the show safely. You can look at the Sun directly through glasses equipped with special solar filters, or through a dark #13 or #14 rectangular arc-welder's glass. (Sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for solar viewing.) Another easy method is to create a pinhole projector, made by poking a small hole in a card, facing it toward the Sun, and holding a second card about 3 feet behind it in its shadow. Or you can point binoculars toward the Sun and project the bright disk onto a white card a couple of feet behind the eyepiece. 
 
 Sky & Telescope provides more information about safely viewing a partial solar eclipse here. 
 
 A solar eclipse can only happen at the time of new Moon, and in particular when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and Sun. This alignment occurs only occasionally, rather than at every new Moon, because the lunar orbit is tipped about 5° to Earth's orbital plane and so the Moon's shadow usually misses Earth entirely. 
 
 "Last November, adventurous amateur astronomers had to travel to Africa to view a total solar eclipse," notes Kelly Beatty of Sky & Telescope. "There won't be a total one this year, so everyone in a position to see the partial event on October 23rd should enjoy it if they can." 
 
 Click here to read about other solar and lunar eclipses that occurred during 2014. 
 
 Sky & Telescope is making the following photo and illustrations available to the news media. Permission is granted for one-time, nonexclusive use in print and broadcast media, as long as appropriate credits (as noted in each caption) are included. Web publication must include a link to SkyandTelescope.com. 

 If you missed the "blood moon" earlier this month, here's your chance to see another unusual arrangement of the heavenly bodies. Thursday brings a partial solar eclipse, with the moon passing between the Earth and the sun just enough to take a "bite" out of our star during the late afternoon or early evening — and for some lucky viewers, during sunset. 
 
 Nearly everywhere in America, Canada and Mexico will be able to see the eclipse, though it's those up north who will be treated to the biggest share of the moon's shadow. The action starts at about 6 p.m. on the East Coast, where the sun will appear to lose a piece of its disc as it dips below the horizon — likely to be an extremely striking sight. Unfortunately, New England is left out of the fun; the sun will set there just before the moon's shadow touches down. 
 
 On the West Coast, the show begins at around 2 p.m., so no sunset viewing, but the eclipse will be far more distinct. Alaska will have the best view — about 70 percent of the sun will be blocked out. Sky and Telescope has a list of timing and maximum coverage for most major cities, and you can visit this website to see an animated version of what to expect. 
 
 If you plan to view the eclipse in person, remember: Don't look directly at the sun! It may be partly obscured, but all it takes is a sliver of sun on an unprotected eye to cause eye damage or even blindness. 
 
 To view the eclipse safely, the simplest way is to poke a pinhole in a bit of cardboard or foil and let it project the sun's onto a nearby wall or piece of paper (don't look through the pinhole). You should see a bright spot in the shape of the sun growing more crescent-shaped as the moon advances. Experiment with creating these projections using your hands or more holes — you'll have plenty of time, since it will take a full two hours for the moon to complete its passage. 
 
 Children wear protective glasses as they watch for Tuesday's partial solar eclipse from Sydney's Observatory Hill on Tuesday afternoon. David Gray / Reuters 
 
 Alternatively, check with nearby science centers and observatories — some will likely be selling or giving out tinted glasses through which you can safely watch the phenomenon. You may even find a local viewing party where you can see the eclipse with an expert on hand. 
 
 Weather isn't always favorable, of course, but if the skies are obscured by clouds in your city, there are still ways to watch the eclipse from the comfort of your home. Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles will be providing a livestream, as will Slooh. 

 This collection contains web crawls performed as the post-inauguration crawl for part of the End of Term Web Archive, a collaborative project that aims to preserve the U.S. federal government web presence at each change of administration. Content includes publicly-accessible government websites hosted on .gov, .mil, and relevant non-.gov domains, as well as government social media materials. The web archiving was performed in the Winter of 2016 and Spring of 2017 to capture websites after the January 20, 2017 inauguration. For more information, see 
 
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 CLOSE How can you photograph Thursday's partial solar eclipse? There will only be one more opportunity in the U.S. this decade. 
 
 Sunset eclipse: A partial solar eclipse appears in the sky at sunset in Amarillo, Texas, in May 2012. (Photo: Anthony Boyer, Your Take) 
 
 Get your camera gear and protective filters ready: a partial solar eclipse is due Thursday. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. It's a spectacular sight, and an even better photo opportunity. Here are some tips and pointers to keep in mind when photographing the solar eclipse. 
 
 DO 
 
 • Use a solar filter to protect your DSLR camera sensor 
 
 • Use protective eyewear, such as welder's glasses 
 
 • Use a tripod or mount to avoid a blurry photo 
 
 • Manually focus your camera 
 
 • Set your camera settings before the solar eclipse — test those settings on a non-eclipse day 
 
 • Use a high ISO setting and high resolution — to keep exposures very short and prevent blurring from vibrations 
 
 DON'T 
 
 
 
 • Use a smartphone 
 
 • Look directly at the sun with your camera/eyes unless both are protected 
 
 • Forget to share your solar eclipse photos at yourtake.usatoday.com, and tell us where the photo was taken 
 
 Have other solar eclipse photo tips that you'd like to share? Tweet us @YourTake or upload them us here. 
 
 SKY SPECTACLE: SOLAR ECLIPSE COMING THURSDAY 
 
 WHEN TO WATCH 
 
 New York City: The eclipse starts at 5:49 p.m. ET. The eclipse will still be going on as the sun sets at 6:03 p.m. ET. 
 
 Washington: The eclipse starts at 5:52 p.m. ET. The eclipse will still be going on as the sun sets at 6:17 p.m. ET. 
 
 Chicago: The eclipse starts at 4:36 p.m. CT. The eclipse will be at its maximum at 5:43 p.m. CT and the sun will set while still in eclipse. 
 
 Denver: The eclipse starts at 3:18 p.m. MT. The eclipse will be at its maximum at 4:35 p.m. MT and will end at 5:44 p.m. MDT. 
 
 Los Angeles: The eclipse will start at 2:08 p.m. PT. The eclipse will be at its maximum at 3:28 p.m. and will end at 4:40 p.m. PT. 
 
 This gives you an idea of how much of the sun will be blocked by the moon at the height of the eclipse, depending on where you live. (Photo: Doyle Rice and Frank Pompa, USA TODAY; Source: NASA) 
 
 LISTEN TO USA TODAY'S PODCAST 
 
 Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1wlk0MZ 

 Located 1,134 feet above sea level on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, Griffith Observatory is one of southern California's most popular attractions. The mission of Griffith Observatory is to inspire everyone to observe, ponder, and understand the sky.
– It's a great month for watching the skies: On top of the selenelion eclipse and the Orionid meteor shower, a partial solar eclipse can be seen by most Americans today, reports Sky and Telescope. It can be seen around 2pm on the West Coast and 6pm on the East Coast—a full list of times provided by NASA can be seen here—but while those who catch it just before sunset will see striking views, New Englanders are out of luck because the sun will have set there by the time the rest of the country can see the moon cross between the sun and Earth. The eclipse will be more distinct the further west a viewer is, with Alaskans seeing around 70% of the sun blocked out. NBC has some tips for safe viewing—stressing that nobody should look directly at the sun because of the risk of serious eye damage—and USA Today has some tips for photographers, again stressing the need for protective eyewear. There will be a live stream from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. For those who miss out completely, there will be one more solar eclipse visible in North America this decade: a total eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017.