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Solar Eclipse Sunday Promises Spectacular Views from China to Texas

Image: As the solar eclipse on May 20, 2012, progresses, its partial and annular phases will look very similar to this eclipse on May 10, 1994 / Credit: Fred Espenak/SkyandTelescope.com

Almost all of North America will undergo a weird and dramatic event late Sunday afternoon (May 20). A partial eclipse of the sun will be visible, and for most, it will coincide with sunset.

Only for places northwest of a line running roughly from San Diego to Winnipeg will the eclipse be visible from start to finish before the sun sets. Elsewhere, depending on where you are, if your sky is clear toward the west-northwest, the setting sun will appear slightly dented, deeply crescent-shaped, or even ring-shaped.

The eclipse will begin in China, but in parts of eight western states — Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas — viewers living within a path averaging about 190 miles (306 kilometers) wide, will have a front-row seat to witness the rare and exciting spectacle of an annular solar eclipse, or ring eclipse. The path of annularity extends from the coastline at the California-Oregon border to northwestern Texas, where it will end at local sunset.

Places within the path include Medford, Ore.; Eureka, Calif.; Reno, Nev.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Lubbock, Texas. Also within the path are two beloved national parks, Utah’s Bryce Canyon and Arizona’s Grand Canyon. The U.S. National Park Service has invited the public to view the eclipse from a national partk this weekend. [May 20 Solar Eclipse: Complete Coverage]

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