Partial Solar Eclipse Visible Over Hawai‘i

Sun over Haleakalā, file photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

Hawaiʻi will be the only state in the US to see today’s partial solar eclipse, according to experts.

The Bishop Museum J. Watumull Planetarium reports that the moon will block an estimated 44% of the sun during the peak of the eclipse, which will occur at around 3:48 p.m. over Honolulu.

Informational material published by Planetarium staff indicates that the event will start at around 2:20 p.m. and end at around 5 p.m. in Hawaiʻi.

The information was posted on the planetarium’s website, and that includes a warning that it is never safe to view the sun without appropriate eye protection.  “If any part of the sun’s disc is still visible, there is the danger of permanent eye damage,” the site reports.

The event is the first solar eclipse of 2013, and will also be visible in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.