SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diegans will be able to partially see the solar eclipse Monday.
From Southern California, the view of the moon is expected to pass in front of the sun starting around 10 a.m. The high peak time is at 11:11 a.m.
Even though San Diegans can only see the sun partially covered between 50 to 60%, it's still unsafe for people to stare at the celestial phenomenon with their eyes directly.
ISO certified eclipse glasses are recommended.
There are also some creative things people can find at home to safely watch the solar eclipse.
Karla Nafarrate, Marketing and Communications Manager at The Fleet Science Center said, "If you are at home from your kitchen, you can take out a colander and from all of those holes, you can project it on the ground and you will be able to see all of those crescents. Another good thing to take a look at is if you are near a tree, you will see the shadows of the leaves have really beautiful different kind of shapes."
Another option is a DIY pinhole viewfinder, which is especially fun for kids to make.
Nafarrate said to take a cereal box, cut out the top and bottom flaps, leave the middle flaps, and tape them down to split the center. Add some aluminum foil to half of the opening, then stab a pin hole into the center of the foil with a push pin or safety clip.
People can take it outside and with their backs turned to the sun, hold the cereal box over their shoulder, with the foil side covered on the furthest side out.
Then, one can look inside the open half and see the shadow of the moon inside the cereal box.
This type of solar eclipse won't happen again until 2044.
"Even though an eclipse happens two to five times a year, we don't always get to see a total solar eclipse," Nafarrate said. "Those only happen around every 18 months, but they happen all around the world so in order to be able to see it from the same location, sometimes it's five years, 20, or a 100 years before it can happen in that exact location."
VIEWING PARTY
From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday, the Fleet Science Center will have a viewing party outside next to the fountain.
ISO eclipse glasses will be available for purchase.
The Fleet Science Center will have tons of activities for people attending the viewing party, including astronomers, space demonstrations, telescopes with special filters for people to use, creative DIY projects for people to make their own eclipse glasses, and a live NASA feed going.
Local astronomy and eclipse experts from UC San Diego, San Diego State and the San Diego Astronomy Association will be available to answer questions, and hands-on demonstration stations will feature crafting eclipse projectors.
The Science Fleet Center will still remain open after the viewing party ends, until 5 p.m.
At 10 a.m., the Julian Dark Sky Network will host an eclipse viewing party at the Julian Library. The free event will include pairs of eclipse viewing glasses as well as solar telescopes set up to view sunspots and solar flares.
Other libraries will host viewing events around the city. More information can be found here.
