Will the solar eclipse be visible in SLO County? Here’s what we’ll see and when

Although San Luis Obispo County and the rest of California won’t experience the upcoming solar eclipse in its full glory, we will get a chance to see a glimpse of it.

Other parts of the United States will be more lucky and are bracing for a total solar eclipse experience that won’t be seen here like this again for another 20 years.

On Monday, April 8, the moon will fully block the sun as it passes over a significant swath of Mexico, the United States and Canada, according to NASA.

“It will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044,” NASA said.

What is a total solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, blocking the face of the sun.

For places in the path of totality where the full eclipse can be fully seen, the sky will darken in the middle of the day and it’ll look like it’s dusk or very early dawn outside.

What will California see during solar eclipse?

Also known as the Great North American Eclipse, the astronomical event is expected to appear as a partial eclipse for other parts of the U.S., including California.

San Luis Obispo will see a partial solar eclipse of nearly 41.6%, peaking at 11:11 a.m., according to an interactive map by National Solar Observatory. The eclipse will begin about an hour before it reaches its peak.

San Diego will see the most substantial portion of the eclipse in California — 53.9% — as it sweeps northward, while Los Angeles will see 48.9% of the eclipse, according to NationalEclipse.com. San Francisco may see about 34%.

“Similar to San Francisco, we can only expect about 35% coverage of the sun, even at the peak,” said Kyle Watters, a professor of physics and astronomy at Sacramento State.

Watters said the moon will cover a sliver of the sun at around 10:15 a.m. and will reach its maximum coverage around 11:15 a.m. It’ll leave the sun and end the partial eclipse around 12:15 p.m.

If you plan to watch, Watters warns that the partial eclipse means the sun will never be safe to look at. He advises people to wear eclipse glasses or viewers when watching the event at all times in California.

What’s in the path of totality?

The National Solar Observatory interactive map shows a path of totality that stretches from Mexico to the United States.

Mexico’s Pacific Coast will be the first location in North America to see the eclipse totality, at 11 a.m., Pacific Time.

“The path of the eclipse continues from Mexico,” NASA said, “entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.”

It’ll end in Newfoundland, Canada, at 5:16 p.m. local time — or 12:46 p.m. Pacific Time.

East Coast will see ‘fireballs’ in the sky

NASA will be doing research at the same time of the April 8 eclipse.

“Three sounding rockets will launch before, during and after the peak local eclipse to study how Earth’s upper atmosphere is affected when sunlight momentarily dims over a portion of the planet,” NASA said in a news release.

The rockets will be launched at Virginia’s Wallops Flight Facility.

Those around Pennsylvania to North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio may see multiple streaks of fire in the sky.

Californians, however, won’t be able to see the fireballs, Watters said.

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