"Spectacular Light Show:" Partial Solar Eclipse Will Be Visible in Marion Sunday

Iowans are in for a spectacular light show this weekend, according to a professor.

On Sunday, May 20, a partial eclipse of the sun will be visible starting at 7:30 p.m., according to Siobahn Morgan, head of the Department of Earth Science.

"The eclipse will not completely block out the sun, since the moon is slightly farther from the Earth than it normally is," said Morgan in a press release. "This is just the opposite of the 'Super Moon' a few weeks ago. This time, the new moon will appear to be slightly smaller than normal, so it will not completely cover the sun, and a ring of the sun will be visible around the dark moon from some places on Earth."

For Iowa viewers, the moon will have the maximum coverage of the sun around 8:20 p.m.

Morgan warned that people should never look at the sun through a telescope, binoculars or even a camera without proper solar-viewing equipment.

"This can cause immediate and permanent eye damage," she said. 

She recommends using a projection system to view the sun.

She said an easy way to view the eclipse is to use a colander. Holding it up and letting the sunlight shine through it will produce little images of the sun on the ground. During a partial eclipse, the projections will have a crescent shape. 

"Any small hole will produce a similar effect," said Morgan.