Partial solar eclipse is coming on August 11 — here’s who can see it

A
total solar eclipse is photographed from atop Carroll Rim Trail
at Painted Hills, a unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National
Monument, near Mitchell, Oregon, U.S. August 21,
2017
REUTERS/Adrees
Latif

• There will be a partial solar
  eclipse on August 11.
• The event will be most visible at the North Pole and in
  northern cities.
• While the eclipse will be a sight to behold, it won’t
  be quite as stunning as the total
  eclipse that swept across the US last
  summer. 

The summer of 2018 continues to be a blockbuster
for fantastic

celestial events.

Following
July’s total lunar eclipse, some sky-watchers will be treated
to a partial solar
eclipse on August 11. 

During a solar eclipse, the moon passes between the Earth and the
sun, casting a shadow on our planet. If you’re watching from
Earth, the
moon appears to cover the sun. 

The event that captured
the US’ attention last summer was a total solar eclipse. In
that case, the moon blocked the entire sun. But the coming
eclipse is only partial, which means that the moon will pass in
front of a portion of the sun, rather than covering it entirely.

How much the moon covers the sun depends on your location on
Earth. The coming partial solar eclipse will be most visible at
the North Pole,
EarthSky reports — there, the sun’s diameter will be 65%
covered. In the northern city of Yakutsk, Russia, the sun will be
57% obscured. In Greenland, the sun will be 50% covered.

People in Seoul, South Korea, and Shanghai, China will be treated
to the partial eclipse as well. The moon will obscure 35% and 20%
of the sun in those cities, respectively. 

Even though the sun gets fully or partially blocked during an
eclipse, you
need glasses with special filters to watch the event without
damaging your eyes, since the light that surrounds the moon is
still intensely bright. Pinhole cameras are another good
option. 

The next total solar eclipse will happen on July 2, 2019,
and be visible to people in the South Pacific and South
America. The next total solar eclipse that will be visible in
North America won’t come until April 8, 2024. Your next chance to
see a total lunar
eclipse (when the Earth passes in between the moon and the
sun, casting a reddish shadow on the moon) will come on January
20, 2019.