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Partial Solar Eclipse 2014 Arrives Thursday. Here's How To Watch It Safely

Rare Eclipse To Darken Skies This Thursday
By 

Associate Science Editor, The Huffington Post

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(Animation of the "penumbral shadow"

sweeping across our planet. Credit:

NASA/Sinclair)

It's already been a big week for skywatchers, and more celestial fun is on the horizon.

On Tuesday, skywatchers were treated to the annual Orionid meteor shower. And now a spooky partial solar eclipse will darken skies for viewers across North America on Thursday, Oct. 23.

A partial solar eclipse occurs when the new moon passes in front of the sun, casting a shadow on Earth and blocking a portion of the sun from view.

The eclipse will be visible in the late afternoon between the East and West Coast of the U.S., as far north as the Arctic, and as far south as Mexico.

(Story continues below.)
(Map by Michael Zeiler/www.greatamericaneclipse.com)

If you'd like to watch the eclipse, be very careful. Eclipse or no eclipse, scientists caution that staring at the sun with the naked eye can cause permanent eye damage.

Safe ways to view the event include wearing special eclipse glasses or making a pinhole projector to project the view onto another surface. If you'll be using a telescope, you'll need a special filter.

The Coca-Cola Space Science Center at Columbus State University in Georgia, and the Slooh Community Observatory, with its main feed coming from the Prescott Solar Observatory in Arizona, will live-stream the eclipse starting at 5 p.m. EDT.

Click here to find out when the eclipse will begin in your area and when it will reach its maximum.

If you snap a great photo of the eclipse on Thursday, we want to see it! We'll be hosting a live blog of the event on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. EDT.

You can tweet your photos with hashtag #HuffPostEclipse. Or submit them directly to our "Partial Solar Eclipse" slideshow.

We'll be collecting user photos from all over, and yours may be featured!

Before You Go

Partial Solar Eclipse
Indonesia Solar Eclipse(01 of26)
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A partial solar eclipse is seen through cloud at Sanur beach, Bali, Indonesia, Friday, May 10, 2013. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Firdia Lisnawati)
Kenya Eclipse(02 of26)
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This multiple exposure image shows the transition from right to left of a hybrid solar eclipse seen over Lake Oloidien near Naivasha in Kenya Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. A rare solar eclipse swept across parts of the US, Africa and Europe on Sunday with some areas witnessing a total blackout and others experiencing a partial version. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ben Curtis)
Nigeria Partial Eclipse(03 of26)
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A man watches a partial solar eclipse through welding goggles in Lagos, Nigeria, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. Clouds moving over the city allowed only brief views of the eclipse which in southern Europe was partial. The total eclipse was seen sweeping east across Africa. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Sunday Alamba)
Kenya Eclipse(04 of26)
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Belgian tourists watch a hybrid solar eclipse from Lake Oloidien near Naivasha in Kenya Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. A rare solar eclipse swept across parts of the US, Africa and Europe on Sunday with some areas witnessing a total blackout and others experiencing a partial version. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ben Curtis)
Kenya Solar Eclipse(05 of26)
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A cloud layer partially obstructs a view of a the moon passing in front of the sun in this partial solar eclipse, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya boasts one of the best locations to view this hybrid solar eclipse, which according to scientists is a rare occurrence. The total phase of the solar eclipse will be very brief and will only be seen in Kenya for 15 seconds. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Sayyid Azim)
Spain Solar Eclipse(06 of26)
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The moon crosses in front of the lower part of the sun during a partial solar eclipse in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. Clouds moving over the city allowed only brief views of the eclipse which in southern Europe was partial. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Andres Gutierrez)
Kenya Solar Eclipse(07 of26)
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A Kenyan Masai watches a partial solar eclipse through an X-Ray film in Nairobi, Kenya, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. Kenya boasts one of the best locations to view this hybrid solar eclipse, which according to scientists is a rare occurrence. The total phase of the solar eclipse will be very brief and will only be seen in Kenya for 15 seconds. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Sayyid Azim)
Solar Eclipse(08 of26)
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A cloud layer partially obstructs a view of a the moon passing in front of the sun in this partial solar eclipse, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013 in New York. partial solar eclipse was visible in the sky over much of the eastern USA early Sunday morning. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ben Berry)
Australia Solar Eclipse(09 of26)
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The moon crosses in front of the sun during a partial solar eclipse seen through an iron cross on a church in Sydney, Friday, May 10, 2013. At remote outposts across Australia, scientists and spectators gathered to watch as the eclipse castes its approximately 200-kilometer-wide (120-mile-wide) shadow at dawn over Western Australia, before moving east through the Northern Territory and the top of Queensland state. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Rick Rycroft)
Mideast Israel Solar Eclipse(10 of26)
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The moon crosses in front of the sun during a partial solar eclipse as seen from the Givatayim Observatory, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. People gathered at the Israeli Astronomical Association center to watch the partial solar eclipse. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ariel Schalit)
Mideast Israel Solar Eclipse(11 of26)
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A woman looks through a filter at the moon crossing in front of the sun during a partial solar eclipse as seen from the Givatayim Observatory, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. People gathered at the Israeli Astronomical Association center to watch the partial solar eclipse. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ariel Schalit)
Sudan Solar Eclipse(12 of26)
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A partial solar eclipse is seen over the Sudanese capital Khartoum on November 3, 2013. A rare solar eclipse sweeps parts of North America, Europe and Africa, allowing a view of the Sun totally or partially blocked out by the Moon. (credit:Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Sudan Solar Eclipse(13 of26)
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A Sudanese man reacts as he looks through tinted glasses towards the sun to watch a partial solar eclipse over the Sudanese capital Khartoum, on November 3, 2013. The rare solar eclipse will sweep across parts of Africa, Europe and the United States as the moon blocks the sun either fully or partially, depending on the location. (credit:AFP/EBRAHIM HAMID via Getty Images)
Manila Solar Eclipse(14 of26)
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A resident using a solar filter observes a partial solar eclipse as seen during sunrise in the coastal town of Gumaca, Quezon province, southeast of Manila on May 21, 2012. Thousands turned their eyes to the sky on both sides of the Pacific to gaze excitedly as a partial eclipse occluded the sun at dawn in Asia and at dusk in the western United States. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun, but is too far from the Earth to block it out completely, leaving a 'ring of fire' visible. (credit:TED ALJIBE via Getty Images)
Manila Solar Eclipse(15 of26)
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A partial solar eclipse as seen during sunrise in the coastal town of Gumaca, Quezon province, southeast of Manila on May 21, 2012. Thousands turned their eyes to the sky on both sides of the Pacific to gaze excitedly as a partial eclipse occluded the sun at dawn in Asia and at dusk in the western US. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun, but is too far from the Earth to block it out completely, leaving a 'ring of fire' visible. (credit:AFP Photo/TED ALJIBE via Getty Images)
Partial Solar Eclipse(16 of26)
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Partial eclipse, April 1, 2011. (credit:V31S70/Flickr)
Canary Islands Partial Eclipse(17 of26)
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Partial solar eclipse seen from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain on November 2013. (credit:Ser Marr/500px)
Hungary Solar Eclipse(18 of26)
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First partial solar eclipse of 2011 is seen through clouds over the Bakony Mountain in Marko, some 132 kms southwest of Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. The partial solar eclipse can be seen in Europe, as well as parts of Africa and Asia. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS/MTI, Lajos Nagy)
Jeddah Solar Eclipse(19 of26)
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Saudi fully-veiled women wear special tinted glasses to watch a partial solar eclipse in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on January 4, 2011. The world'd first partial solar eclipse in 2011 occurred when a fraction of the Moon obscured the Sun, making it seem -- in clear skies -- as if a 'bite' had been taken out of the solar face. (credit:AMER HILABI/AFP/Getty Images)
Philippines Solar Eclipse(20 of26)
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The minaret of a Muslim mosque frames the partial solar eclipse as viewed late afternoon in Manila, Philippines, Friday Jan. 15, 2010. (credit:AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Philippines Solar Eclipse(21 of26)
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The moon casts a shadow on the upper right quadrant of the sun during an almost two-hour partial solar eclipse as viewed at sunset in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. (credit:AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Pakistan Eclipse(22 of26)
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A partial solar eclipse silhouettes birds surrounding a minaret of the shrine of Sufi Saint Bah-ud-din Zakria in Multan, Pakistan on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century pitched a swath of Asia into near-darkness after dawn, as millions watched the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon Wednesday. (credit:AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)
India Eclipse(23 of26)
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A partial solar eclipse is seen behind the Golden Temple, Sikhs holiest shrine, in Amritsar, India, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. Millions of Asians turned their eyes skyward Wednesday as dawn suddenly turned to darkness across the continent in the longest total solar eclipse this century will see. Millions of others, seeing the rare event as a bad omen, shuttered themselves indoors. (credit: AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Europe Eclipse(24 of26)
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A picture taken on January 4, 2011 shows the world's first partial solar eclipse of 2011 above a sculpture at the National theatre in Sofia. Europe was given a front-row seat today to the first solar eclipse of 2011 only to find that in many places a thick curtain of cloud marred the spectacle. (credit:DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Pakistan Eclipse(25 of26)
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A Pakistani man waves in front of a partial solar eclipse in Lahore on January 4, 2011. The first solar eclipse of 2011 covered the sun by 30 percent and could be seen in many parts of the world. (credit: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
Eclipse At Sunset(26 of26)
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Eclipse viewed through a bridge. (credit:Zhan Tian via Getty Images)
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