Partial solar eclipse on March 29: When you might see it on Long Island

The next total solar eclipse viewable on Long Island will begin at 6:05 a.m. — on May 1, 2079.

If you can’t wait that long — and are willing to settle for what might still prove to be a tempting tease — you can wake before dawn Saturday to watch the sunrise, which astronomers said will feature a partial eclipse of the sun. It won’t be as dramatic as the near-total eclipse Long Islanders saw on April 8. Some experts said you might not even notice.

At its max, NASA scientists this week said the moon will block out about 22% of the sun visible here on Long Island.

The partial eclipse will come early and will be brief.

"It might sort of be like the Apple logo — and maybe not even that," Ken Spencer, president of the Astronomical Society of New York, said Friday. "More than likely, nobody's even going to notice it."

The reason?

Spencer, who photographed his first total solar eclipse in 1968 from an Eastern Airlines press corps plane over the Atlantic Ocean and now builds telescopes at his home in Sea Cliff, said most Long Islanders will only be able to see the partial eclipse along the South Shore.

You might not even notice the reduction in sunlight, Spencer said, adding, "Twenty percent less illumination of the sun is still pretty bright."

Experts warn if you plan to watch the partial eclipse you shouldn’t do so without proper eye protection — which means eclipse glasses meeting the ISO 12312-2 international standard.

NASA also warns that even with approved solar glasses, viewers should never view the sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars or any other optical device, because solar rays will be concentrated and can burn through any filter causing what likely would result in “serious eye injury.”

In the Northeast, the duration and portion of the sun blocked during the eclipse will increase the farther north and east the viewing location, but the location of the sun and moon in the morning sky could impinge the ability to see the eclipse at all. 

The National Weather Service said overcast skies are possible Saturday. That could reduce visibility.

Space.com, an independent space news publication based in New York City, said the best way to understand eclipse coverage areas is to take an atlas of the United States and Canada, draw a line from Oakville, Ontario, south to Virginia Beach, Virginia. All areas west of that line will have no view of any eclipse, and those east will see it.

For instance, while viewers in Washington, D.C., will barely notice — just 1% of the sun will be blocked — viewers in Boston will see the moon block about 43% of the sun, and those in Maine will see about 64% of the sun blocked.

The greatest coverage will be in northern Quebec, where about 94% of the sun will be obscured.

On Long Island, the time and duration also will depend on whether you’re in western Nassau or watching in easternmost Suffolk.

According to TimeandDate.com — a Norway-based leader in precise sunrise and sunset times, cloud cover, eclipse and stargazing information — if you plan on watching in Atlantic Beach, the partial eclipse will begin at 5:23:32 a.m. but won’t be visible until sunrise at 6:42:57 a.m. The maximum eclipse coverage will be at 6:45:47 a.m., but the entire experience will be over by 7:04:47 a.m.

If you’re in Montauk, the eclipse will begin at 5:23:16 a.m. while the sun remains below the horizon and will first be visible at sunrise, at 6:35:36 a.m. The maximum eclipse will be at 6:38:27 a.m. It’ll all be over by 7:05:35 a.m.

"While a partial eclipse is certainly no match for a total one," said Joseph Rao, guest lecturer at the Hayden Planetarium, "it's nonetheless a most interesting sight."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”