Partial solar eclipse visible in parts of the Midwest on Wednesday
A partial solar eclipse will occur on Wednesday, with peak coverage around 11:52 a.m. Central Time and limited visibility in most Midwestern cities, while higher coverage is expected in northern locations such as Alaska and Newfoundland.
A partial solar eclipse will be observable on Wednesday across portions of North America. The eclipse will begin in the United States at approximately 10:34 a.m. Central Time, reach its maximum coverage at 11:52 a.m. CT, and conclude around 1:52 p.m. CT, according to University of Indiana astronomy professor Catherine Pilachowski.
The path of greatest coverage will pass near the North Pole, moving southward across Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Portugal, where totality will last only a few minutes. In the United States, most locations will see only a small fraction of the sun obscured. Illinois, including the Chicago area, is expected to experience less than 1% coverage, while Detroit will see about 3%, based on NASA data.
Higher percentages of obscuration are forecast for northern cities: Anchorage, Alaska, will have 28% coverage with a peak at 8:21 a.m. local time; Bangor, Maine, 24% at 1:53 p.m.; and St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador, 53% at 3:35 p.m. Additional locations with partial coverage include Montreal (18%), New York City (9%), Philadelphia (7%), Toronto (8%), Washington, D.C. (4%) and Winnipeg (5%).
NASA notes that the next coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the United States will not occur until 2045, though a partial eclipse on Jan. 14, 2029 is expected to cover about 60% of the sun for the Chicago area.