Staying in SoCal for the eclipse? Here's when it will happen and what to expect
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Southern California won't get to experience the full totality of Monday's solar eclipse - but we will get to see a partial blocking of the sun for an extended period of time.
The path of the totality - or the region of the country where the sun will be fully blocked from view - stretches in a narrow band from Texas up to Maine. That totality will last just over four minutes.
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In SoCal, the sun will be partially blocked by the moon starting just after 10 a.m. and lasting until about 12:20 p.m. At its peak, the moon will block roughly 50% of the sun from sight.
More details on viewing the eclipse in California
"It's very rare for everything to line up perfectly to get the sort of eclipse we'll be having tomorrow," said Dakotah Tyler, a Ph.D. candidate in astrophysics at UCLA.
Even with only a partial blocking, experts warn Southern Californians not to stare directly at the sun during this time without the proper glasses, or risk serious eye damage. Regular sunglasses, binoculars or telescopes won't help, either.
The last total solar eclipse was in 2017 but it will be about 20 years before this happens again, so grab those glasses and enjoy the show.
"When I was living in New Jersey, me and my friends we gathered on the driveway," said Ian Solomon of Los Angeles. "We looked up into the sky. We had our glasses. We were ready for it."
"It was awesome."
