During the late afternoon on Oct. 23, 2014 there will be a partial solar eclipse that will be visible from most of North America if the weather is clear.
The partial solar eclipse will occur when the new moon partially blocks the Sun, creating a spectacular view, the Weather Channel reported. The event will not be a full eclipse because the moon is too far away to completely block out the Sun.
The eclipse will begin at exactly 5:551 p.m. Eastern Time and reach its peak by 6:08 p.m.
A solar eclipse is never safe to look at with the naked eye, and doing so can lead to permanent damage or even blindness, NASA reported. Even sunglasses will not offer adequate protection from the eclipse, and viewers are warned not to continually stare at it no matter what method of protection they are using.
The safest and most inexpensive way to safely view the eclipse is to watch it via projection.
"Place a pinhole or small opening in a card, and hold it between the sun and a screen - giant sheet of white paper works - a few feet away. An image of the sun will be seen on the screen. Projected images of the sun's crescent during an eclipse may even be seen on the ground in the small openings created by interlacing fingers, or in the dappled sunlight beneath a leafy tree," NASA explained.
Those wishing to use this method can also use binoculars to project a magnified image onto a white card, but should never look directly at the Sun through them.
Filters specifically designed for looking at eclipse can also be used to view the event. These filters usually contain a thin layer of aluminum, chromium or silver deposited on their surfaces, NASA suggests a #14 (or darker) welder's glass.
Unsafe filters include: "color film, some non-silver black and white film, medical x-ray films with images on them, smoked glass, photographic neutral density filters and polarizing filters."
Telescopes with solar filters can also be purchased or possibly used with a local astronomy society.
