KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Get ready for a cool celestial event on Saturday!
East Tennesseans should be able to partially view an annular solar eclipse in the early afternoon.
It will begin at 11:43 a.m. and reach maximum coverage, which is 46.7% for Knoxville, at 1:10 p.m. and end at 2:40 p.m.
During an annular eclipse, the moon passes in front of the sun and creates the appearance of an illuminated ring in the sky.
This happens when the moon is too small, or far away enough from Earth, that it doesn't fully cover the sun's disk during the eclipse. This will create what is referred to as a "ring of fire" effect—when the sun's light still shines from outside the moon's disk.
The "ring of fire" will be visible from Texas to Oregon, but unfortunately not in East Tennessee.
It's important to wear eclipse glasses when looking up at the sun during this event. You can also create a pinhole projector for kids to watch as the crescent starts to show in the shadows on the ground.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there may be some clouds during the early afternoon on Saturday. We'll keep you updated!