March Partial Solar Eclipse Will Cast Shadow Over North America, the Arctic—What to Know

A rare partial solar eclipse is seen over Northamptonshire, UK, on March 20, 2015. Clive Mason/Getty Images

Some 814 million people worldwide will see the sky darken on March 29, as a deep partial solar eclipse casts the moon’s shadow upon a vast tract of the Earth’s surface, according to Time and Date.

However, only 44,800 will see 90 percent or more of the sun covered, while the majority will witness just a sliver of moon overlap the sun’s disk and a slight dimming. Those fortunate enough to see the maximum eclipse lie along a path from the northeastern tip of the United States through eastern Canada, Time and Date reports.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon crosses in between the Earth and the sun, blocking out sunlight.

But partial solar eclipses differ from total solar eclipses in several ways. Partial eclipses occur near Earth’s polar regions, so the darkest part of the moon’s shadow, the umbra, sails over or under the poles, missing the Earth, and at least some sunshine touches the ground. In total solar eclipses, like last April’s big North American eclipse, the umbra blocks out the entire sun along a narrow path that crosses seas and continents.

Courtesy of NASA

The March 29 partial eclipse will be unusually deep; a full 93 percent of the sun will be covered at the moment of greatest eclipse.

The path of the eclipse begins in the south Atlantic Ocean, just north of Brazil, and will head over the eastern U.S. and Canada before penetrating into Arctic territory. It will then move past the North Pole and end in the Arctic Eastern Hemisphere.

So at sunrise on March 29, from 4:50 a.m. to 8:43 a.m. Eastern Time, parts of Maine, New Brunswick, and Quebec will have the best view. A crescent sun with two solar “horns” will rise to the east. The moment of greatest eclipse will occur at 5:48 a.m. over far northern Quebec. Wearing eye protection, such as eclipse glasses, is essential for watching solar eclipses.

Women use special sunglasses to watch the partial solar eclipse in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, on March 29, 2006. Joseph Barrak/AFP via Getty Images

The drama diminishes further away from the path: An observer on the west coast of Greenland might claim the next best view, where as much as 86 percent of the sun will be covered. Then, in descending order from greatest coverage to least, the eclipse will appear in Westfjord, Iceland, (70 percent); Dublin, Ireland, (41 percent); Edinburgh, Scotland, (40 percent); Northern Norway (about 38 percent); Cardiff, Wales, (34 percent); London (30 percent); Paris (23 percent); Berlin (15 percent); and Moscow (only 2 percent).

The partial eclipse wraps up in the evening as seen from the uninhabited, ice-packed archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya in Russia. Notably, the event will also be observed that same morning south of the equator in parts of Northern Africa, including Morocco, Western Sahara, and Algeria.

Despite less hype than the eclipse in April 2024, the event will be marked with a bash by Cliff Valley Astronomy in New Brunswick. Cliff Valley will present Sky Experience II: The Rising Sun Eclipse Experience & Retreat in St. Andrews, N.B., where 86 percent sun coverage is expected at sunrise.

“Where we’re at in St. Andrews, it’s like the magic line that’s where the maximum amount of obstruction is happening,” CEO of Cliff Valley Astronomy Stéphane Picard told The Epoch Times. “As the sun rises, the eclipse will have started, so as it starts breaking the horizon, the moon will already be encroaching quite a bit on the sun.”

This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse near Banner, Wyoming, on Aug. 21, 2017. Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images

High-profile astronomers like Jenna Hinds, executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, will camp alongside crowds of locals and await sunrise. There will be stargazing and a “cosmic costume party,” Picard said.

Cliff Valley Astronomy offers astrotourism consulting and services, such as “Private Star Parties” for groups of up to 12 people who can view the night sky through a high-powered telescope outfitted with the latest technology.

Astrotourism is “the fastest growing travel tourism segment in the world,” Picard said. “The reason why is it’s harder to get to dark skies, because 80 percent of Americans don’t see the Milky Way from where they live.”

After April’s big eclipse, he said, the Sky Experience event became the recipe for a new yearly celebration. At least one eclipse-fest will be thrown annually going forward.

The eclipse on March 29 will be the second and last of this eclipse season. The seasons last about 34 days, occur roughly six months apart, and typically include two or three eclipses.

We can expect an “equinox” solar eclipse on the first day of fall, when day and night are equally long. Having graced North America twice in a row, the moon’s shadow will darken skies over Tasmania, New Zealand, the South Pacific, and Antarctica.