Part of the United States will be engulfed in darkness Saturday. The moon will pass between the sun and the Earth, creating a partial eclipse. It will be an annular eclipse, which is when the moon is at the furthest point from the Earth, meaning it doesn't completely block the sun.
Cincinnati Observatory Executive Director Anna Hehman says it will only be a partial solar eclipse for Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
"It really goes through Oregon to Texas and through parts of Central America, but we're still excited. We're still celebrating. People want to be here for these astronomical events, which we love."
Hehman says this eclipse will be good practice for next year's celestial event. Next April, parts of Indiana, Ohio and extreme western Kentucky will see a total eclipse.
"We had a little bit of a glimpse of how popular this will likely be because of our 2017 eclipse, which was also partial," she says. "It was incredible for us. The totality for this event [2024's eclipse] is even closer. We're getting ready; anticipating a lot of interest."
Hehman says next year, the path of totality from a full eclipse will pass just west of Cincinnati.
Weather permitting, the effects from Saturday's eclipse should be noticeable from just before noon to around 2:30 p.m. Hehman says the Observatory is hosting a watch party, and will be going heavy on eclipse viewing safety. "Even though this is a partial eclipse, everyone needs to observe safe solar viewing," she says.
