Get Ready to See Partial Solar Eclipse on Sunday

Forget about the Sunday night blues: Southern Californians will have a ringside seat to watch the partial eclipse of the sun beginning around 5:25 p.m.

The moon will partially block the sun, resulting in a "ring of fire'" around the dark disk of the moon.

"From start to finish, it looks like something is taking a bite out of the sun, which keeps getting smaller and smaller,'' said Laura Danly, curator at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. "It's a very unusual sight."

Observers can steal a glance with the naked eye but should not look directly at the sun for more than a second or so.

"Sunglasses are not enough,'' Danly said. "You can damage your retinas if you look directly at the sun for any length of time. It's very risky -- it can lead to blindness.''

The eclipse will be the first of its kind in about 20 years. 

Here's Sunday's eclipse schedule:

• 5:24 p.m.: Eclipse begins
• 6:38 p.m.: Maximum eclipse
• 7:42 p.m.: Eclipse ends
• 7:52 p.m.: Sunset

--City News Service