Solar Eclipse 2017: When To Watch In Pennsylvania, Best Viewing Tips

Pennsylvania residents will get plenty of exposure to the solar eclipse today. The big questions are: where and when can you see it? And what steps do you need to take so the light doesn't damage your eyes? (see live stream information below).

The zone for seeing it stretches across the country. While the prime exposure areas where a total solar eclipse is expected is in the Southeast and Northwest, Pennsylvania will have some prime viewing times. Enough of the eclipse will be visible that NASA scientists are urging potential viewers to take precautionary steps.

A partial eclipse in Philadelphia will begin at about 1:21 p.m., peak at about 2:44 p.m. and end at 4:01 p.m. on Aug. 21. The farther south you go, the more you'll be exposed.

Read more: Early Look At Eclipse Day Forecast: Will Clouds Block Pennsylvania's View?

Social media
The 2017 solar eclipse is shaping up to be one of the biggest science events of the digital era. NASA will provide social media updates via the agency’s flagship accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, Google+, and LinkedIn.
NASA is also providing live streaming coverage during the eclipse via the NASA App and on the following social media streaming sites:

• Facebook Live -- https://www.facebook.com/NASA/videos/10155497958441772/
• Twitter/Periscope -- https://www.pscp.tv/nasa
• Twitch TV -- https://twitch.tv/nasa
• Ustream -- http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv
• YouTube -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwMDvPCGeE0

Read more: Watch Live Stream: Total Solar Eclipse 2017 As Seen By NASA

You can see NASA’s live stream of the eclipse here. The total eclipse corridor is 70 miles wide.

You’ve likely already seen or read all you need to know about the erie daytime darkness we’re about to experience, but a few last-minute reminders can’t hurt.

1. First and foremost, protect your eyes. The history of eclipses is littered with scores of accounts of people damaging — and even losing — their sight by looking toward the sun with inadequate protection or none at all. Ordinary sunglasses won’t help. If you look directly at the sun, be sure that you have glasses that you’re sure are ISO 1232-2 compliant.
2. Those glasses can be expensive. The best eclipse-on-a-budget device for viewing has been used for more than 1,000 years: the pinhole camera. All you need is a couple of pieces of paper to construct your own basic version. For a deluxe version, you’ll need only a cereal box (emptied to avoid Cheerios in the eyes), a couple of strips of tape, a small piece of paper and and some foil. Here’s how to build a pinhole camera quickly.
3. Live in the moment, meaning, put down that obnoxious cell phone. Eclipses like this one are rare, and NASA and other sources will provide photos of the moon obscuring the sun that are far better than you’ll be able to snap. So, rather than fumbling around with something as common as your cell phone, soak in the wonder of what’s happening during those darkened two minutes or so around you.

Carlton “Tad” Pryor, a professor in the department of physics and astronomy at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, says you'll know when the eclipse is here, as long as the weather cooperates, even if it's not a total eclipse.

“A total solar eclipse is always very dramatic,” Pryor said in a statement. “The sky gets dark, animals and birds go quiet as if it’s nighttime and it’s a little bit cooler outside. The partial solar eclipse that will be visible in New Jersey is much more subtle, but will be noticeable if you know what to look for.”

Here are the specific viewing times:

Tips for Safe Eclipse Viewing

Because it is unsafe to look directly at the sun, anyone wishing to see the phenomenon should protect their eyes with specially-made and certified filters or by observing the eclipse indirectly.

RELATED: Get Your NASA-Approved Solar Eclipse Glasses Before It's Too Late

Direct viewing can be done safely with "No. 14 arc welder glass" or with eclipse viewing glasses that meet the following criteria outlined by NASA:

• Have certification information with a designated ISO 12312-2 international standard
• Have the manufacturer’s name and address printed on the product
• Not be used if more than three years old or with scratched or wrinkled lenses

Homemade filters or sunglasses – even very dark ones – are never safe for looking directly at the sun, according to Pryor. There are reports of potentially unsafe eclipse glasses appearing for sale, so be sure to buy eclipse viewers from reputable vendors (click here to find them).

Here are a few suggestions for safe, indirect viewing:

• If the sky is clear at around 2:44 p.m. on the day of the eclipse, stand in a leafy tree’s shadow and look at the ground. The smallest spots of sunlight will make little crescent shapes, showing the sun’s apparent shape as the moon crosses in front.
• Another method is to make a small hole in a piece of cardboard with the tip of a pencil or pen and project the light onto a white piece of paper, he said. For a better view, put the hole over a mirror and reflect the light onto a more distant white piece of paper or white surface.

Total eclipses in the Continental United States are unusual, with the last one happening in 1979. Hawaii experienced one in 1991.

“An eclipse is a remarkable phenomenon,” Pryor said. “It was always regarded as signifying something important. Some people thought something was eating the sun and tried to make noise to scare it away. But the ancient Greeks understood what was happening and could start to predict some of these phenomena.”

photo from Rutgers University