Total Solar Eclipse: How Much San Diego County Will See And When

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego is ready for Monday's solar eclipse. We're not among some 32 million Americans living in the path of totality, but the celestial sensation will be noticeable.

In the United States, the path of totality extends from Texas to Maine, but each of the 48 continental states will see some of the solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon slips between our bright star and Earth. In the city of San Diego, the moon will cover about 53.8 percent of the sun at the peak of the eclipse, according to a NASA map that is searchable by ZIP code.

Here are the details:
Partial eclipse begins: 10:03 a.m.
Totality begins: 10:34 a.m.
Maximum: 11:11 a.m.
Totality ends: 11:49 a.m.
Partial ends: 12:23 a.m.

• Related: You Must Protect Your Eyes, Regardless Of Eclipse Totality: What You Need

San Diego's Fleet Science Center will host a free solar-eclipse viewing party outside the Fleet in front of the Bea Evenson Fountain starting at 9 a.m. Monday. The partial solar eclipse will begin at 10:03 a.m. when the moon appears to touch the sun's edge.

The center will have NASA 3-D eclipse glasses for sale and an IMAX live stream of the total eclipse.

Local astronomy and eclipse experts from UC San Diego, San Diego State and the San Diego Astronomy Association will be available to answer questions, and hands-on demonstration stations will feature crafting eclipse projectors.

At 10 a.m., the Julian Dark Sky Network will host an eclipse viewing party at the Julian Library. The free event will include pairs of eclipse viewing glasses as well as solar telescopes set up to view sunspots and solar flares.

Other libraries will host viewing events around the city.

The total solar eclipse starts in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as small parts of Tennessee and Michigan, before entering Canada in southern Ontario through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton before exiting continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Experts remind citizen astronomers that it's essential to wear proper eye protection when looking at the sun, which can otherwise lead to permanent eye damage. The eclipse is only safe to witness with the naked eye during totality, or the period of total darkness when the moon completely covers the sun.

They also cautioned that regular sunglasses are not protective enough.

The moon will shroud the sun for up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds on Monday. The celestial event is expected to draw millions of people to cities and towns in the path of the totality.

The next partial eclipse visible in San Diego will be on Jan. 14, 2029. The U.S. won't see another total eclipse until 2044.

• Related: Animals May Behave Oddly During Eclipse

City News Service contributed to this report.