--- title: August 11 Partial Solar Eclipse: Best Times, Places to See description: The last eclipse of 2018 will be visible throughout the North Hemisphere on August 11. Here's what to know about the partial solar eclipse canonical: https://time.com/5354171/partial-solar-eclipse-time-date/ author: Gabby Raymond article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-10T11:00:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:42:10.140Z article:section: Science og:title: What to Know About the Partial Solar Eclipse This Weekend og:description: The last eclipse of the year is upon us. Here's all the details. og:url: https://time.com/5354171/partial-solar-eclipse-time-date/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcffd3bc2760afb91/698937124ee2621a853127e9/partial-solar-eclipse-august-11-2018.png?branch=production&width=534&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 534 og:image:height: 300 og:image:alt: Partial Solar Eclipse Aug. 2018 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Know About the Partial Solar Eclipse This Weekend twitter:description: The last eclipse of the year is upon us. Here's all the details. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcffd3bc2760afb91/698937124ee2621a853127e9/partial-solar-eclipse-august-11-2018.png?branch=production&width=534&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Everything You Need to Know About the Last Eclipse of 2018 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=07be3bd9-9a72-46d0-9cd6-96b919151fd3&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Solar Eclipse Vocabulary [Watch (HLS stream): Solar Eclipse Vocabulary](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4KCHqOXl.m3u8) (2:37)  _Published 2017-08-17. TIME For Kids reporter Caroline Curran learns from NASA Solar Eclipse Educator Charles Fulco about the solar eclipse vocabulary we all need to know._ by [Gabby Raymond](https://time.com/author/gabby-raymond/) ## Gabby Raymond Aug 10, 2018 11:00 AM UTC  The moon eclipses the sun above the campus of Southern Illinois University on August 21, 2017 in Carbondale, Illinois. The moon eclipses the sun above the campus of Southern Illinois University on August 21, 2017 in Carbondale, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images by [Gabby Raymond](https://time.com/author/gabby-raymond/) ## Gabby Raymond Aug 10, 2018 11:00 AM UTC For much of the world, the last chance to catch an eclipse for a while is about to happen. This weekend’s partial solar eclipse will span across many countries in the Northern Hemisphere on Saturday, Aug. 11 — becoming what could be the most widely-viewed solar eclipse of 2018. The eclipse kicks off at 5:46 a.m. E.T., and will be visible in Greenland before expanding toward Iceland, northern Europe, most of northern Russia and part of northern China, according to [NASA](https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2018Aug11P.GIF). If the weather is good in the morning, when the eclipse starts (around 4:02 a.m. E.T.), then it may become the most viewed solar eclipse of the year. The wide path across parts of the Northern Hemisphere means much more people will be able to catch it than the [July 13 partial solar eclipse](http://time.com/5333271/july-13-2018-partial-solar-eclipse/). Even though it will be visible to a wider swath of the world, the August 11 eclipse still won’t be visible in the U.S. In addition to potentially being the most viewed eclipse, the August 11 eclipse will also be the last eclipse — lunar or solar — of 2018\. Eclipses happen approximately every 173 days during what’s called an eclipse season. According to NASA, twice a year, the moon’s orbit crosses paths with the sun’s orbit for 34 days when up to three eclipses can happen. In 2018, the first eclipse was the [super blue blood moon](http://time.com/5126611/super-blue-blood-moon-pictures-2018/) on Jan. 31 followed by a partial solar eclipse on the Feb. 15\. The Aug. 11 eclipse marks the end of this eclipse season after [two previous eclipses](http://time.com/5328804/july-2018-lunar-eclipse-date/) during the [month of July](http://time.com/5333271/july-13-2018-partial-solar-eclipse/). You’ll have to wait until Jan. 21, 2019 for the [next eclipse](http://amp.timeinc.net/time/5337581/next-lunar-eclipse). It will also be a supermoon. To celebrate the last eclipse of the season, here’s everything you need to know to prepare for the August 11 partial solar eclipse. ## What is a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse happens when the moon comes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on the planet. According to [Space.com](https://www.space.com/33784-solar-eclipse-guide.html), because the moon is relatively smaller than Earth, the shadow is cast on a small area of the Earth’s surface. However, for those who can see it, during a total solar eclipse the moon will cover the sun, blocking out the visible light. The point at which the sun is totally blocked is called totality, and that can last from around 30 seconds to seven minutes. During a partial solar eclipse, there is no totality because the moon will only cover a portion of the sun, according to [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-an-eclipse-58). Partial eclipses tend to look different — it can leave only a sliver of the sun visible, it can cover half of it can only cover a very small potion — depending on your location during the big celestial event. A solar eclipse is basically the opposite of a lunar eclipse, like the one that [happened on July 27](http://time.com/5328804/july-2018-lunar-eclipse-date/). A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth comes between the moon and the sun, causing the moon to be covered by Earth’s shadow and fade away. Unlike solar eclipses, a lunar eclipse often lasts much longer, and are less rare because they can be seen by everyone on the side of Earth where it’s night, while only those within the radius of the moon’s shadow on Earth can see a solar eclipse.  Staff photo by Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images) Portland Press Herald—Press Herald via Getty Images ## What time is the solar eclipse? The partial solar eclipse will start at 4:02 a.m. E.T. on August 11 and the moon will reach its maximum coverage of the sun at 5:46 a.m. E.T., according to NASA. The eclipse will not be visible to those in this time zone, but if you live in the U.S. and want to see the solar eclipse, the closest area you can view it is northern Canada.  A partial solar eclipse is visible over a statue. (Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images) JOE KLAMAR—AFP/Getty Images ## Where can you see the solar eclipse? The solar eclipse will be visible in Russia, northern parts of China, Mongolia, Northern Europe and northern Canada as well as the Arctic Ocean. The moon will cover approximately 73% of the sun when the eclipse is at its peak, according to [NASA](https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEdata.php?Ecl=+20180811). Other parts of the world that will have views of the partial solar eclipse, albeit a much smaller version of it, include Harbin, China, Nuuk, Greenland and Seoul, South Korea.  Special glasses to look at the partial solar eclipse. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Orange County Register via Getty Images) Digital First Media Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images—Digital First Media via Getty Images Just like during the [August 2017 total solar eclipse](http://time.com/4829265/total-solar-eclipse-beauty-science/), you will need [special eclipse glasses](http://time.com/4878020/solar-eclipse-glasses-2017/) to get the best viewing experience of the partial eclipse to protect your eyes. According to the[ American Astrological Society](https://aas.org/media/press-releases/solar-eclipse-across-america-more-than-science) (AAS), partial solar eclipses can be very dangerous to look at with the naked eye. During a partial solar eclipse, only a portion of the sun is covered by the moon’s shadow, making it just as bright as the sun on a typical day. The AAS recommends getting special-purpose sun filtering glasses and not looking at the sun through binoculars, a camera lens or a telescope even with the eclipse glasses on because of the strength of the sun’s light. Instead, they suggest the[ “Pinhole Projection” or the “Optical Protection” methods](https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/projection) for viewing safety. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Hi I'm Time for Kids kid reporter Caroline Curran. Today I'm joined by Charles Fulco, NASA solar eclipse educator. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you so much for having me Caroline. So we at Time for Kids are calling this the great American solar eclipse. What does the word solar mean? Well, Kelly, solar simply means pertaining to the sun. And a solar eclipse means the sun is being covered by the moon for when observed around the earth. So I can demonstrate this by taking the earth and the moon. And you can see that there is a shadow being produced on the earth from the moon. That's a solar eclipse. And the moon produces two types of shadows. It produces a darker, inner shadow called the umbra. And that's where you'd wanna see totality from. It also produces the much bigger, lighter outer shadow called the penumbra and that's where most people will see a partial eclipse. A lunar eclipse means about the moon. So two weeks after a solar eclipse, the moon travels in its orbit to the other side of the earth where it could go into the earth's shadow. So what do we call the flecks of lights that appear behind the umbra or penumbra? Well, Caroline, as an eclipse becomes total, you get some strange things happening that you only see during a total eclipse, and this is one of them. Come over to the [ INAUDIBLE ] with me and I'll explain. So the movement is traveling about 2, 000 miles an hour. And on an eclipse day it'll start off with a little, tiny notch in the sun. Eventually, about 30 minutes into the eclipse, you're gonna have a sun that looks like this. So the moon takes about an hour to cover the sun, so as the moon keeps going over the sun, more and more of it disappears. As the moon begins to slide over the sun and completely cover it, You get what's called Baily's beads. Now, the moon surface has mountains on it. So the mountains actually jut into the sun's disk, and they block part of the sun's thin crescent. And it only lasts for about maybe five or ten seconds. But the last Baily's bead to remain, that was given the name the diamond ring effect, because it's just this one Glorious, beautiful piece of light surrounding, the darkened new moon as the new moon begins to appear. So, within about a span of 30 seconds, you go from a sliver sun, to Baily's beads, to a diamond ring. And finally to totality. That's when the sun's corona Comes into view. The corona is the outer atmosphere of the sun that's only visible during totality. It's actually made of hot gases that surround the sun. Caroline, you've never seen anything so beautiful as a corona at a total eclipse of the sun. 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