RMSC will hold viewing event for Saturday’s partial solar eclipse

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Museum and Science Center is holding a viewing event for the partial solar eclipse on Saturday.

The partial eclipse begins around noon in the Rochester area, reaches its peak at 1:13 p.m., and ends at 2:27 p.m. It will be a small taste of the total solar eclipse that will happen over Rochester’s skies on April 8, 2024.

The event at RMSC runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Since it isn’t safe to look at an eclipse directly, experts will have access to telescopes with solar filters. You can buy eclipse glasses for $2.50 a pair.

There will be a live stream of the eclipse at the Planetarium & Bausch Auditorium for free with general admission. In addition, there will be an “Eclipse 2024!” planetarium show to prepare for next year’s total solar eclipse. Those shows take place at 9:45 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 11:15 a.m. and admission is required. You can get tickets here.

There will also be a giant inflatable sun and a to-scale Earth and moon at RMSC to demonstrate the science of an eclipse.

A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, casting the moon’s shadow on Earth, according the University of Buffalo. A partial eclipse happens when there isn’t a perfect alignment between the moon, sun, and Earth, creating a partial shadow.

About 68 million people across the U.S. will see at least a partial solar eclipse and it will be the most intense in Oregon and Nevada. At its maximum in the Rochester area, 25% of the sun’s disk will be covered by the moon.