# Is anyone going to be able to view today's total solar eclipse (29 March)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329 "2006-03-29T00:49:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329/1 "2006-03-29T00:49:09Z")
I know that \*\*MLS \*\* is [off to Libya to see it.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=364213&highlight=eclipse) Are other Dopers within the [path of totality?](http://www.eclipse.org.uk/eclipse/0212006/) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329/2 "2006-03-29T03:41:22Z")
Thank you! I’m in the big circle to the left, so I think that means it’s a partial here - but I didn’t even know about it. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329/3 "2006-03-29T06:21:57Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I’m in the big circle to the left, so I think that means it’s a partial here - but I didn’t even know about it. Yes, that’s right. A partial eclipse will be visible in all of the grey areas outside the path of totality (including Europe). The actual total eclipse begins in Brazil in a little over two hours’ time. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329/4 "2006-03-29T10:21:04Z")
I’ve been watching the eclipse for about 30 minutes now. (Well, going outside periodically to look at it.) I have my special eclipse glasses and everything. From the map you posted the link to, it looks like the path of totality passes around 200-300 miles north of us, so we will only get a partial eclipse. The peak should be in around 30 minutes or so. Woo hoo! ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329/5 "2006-03-29T11:20:19Z")
Well, that was extremely cool. At peak, I would guesstimate that the sun was at least 80% eclipsed. I got a picture on my digital camera by putting the lens of my eclipse glasses over my camera lens and taking a picture. It seemed to come out okay, although I won’t know for sure until I download the pictures on my home computer. Also, under the trees, there were dozens of sunlight crescents–I guess the gaps in the leaves acted like dozens of pinhole cameras, projecting the image of the eclipse onto the ground. ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329/6 "2006-03-29T14:56:35Z")
My parents were to see it at the Egypt/Libya border… I assume they were able to do so. This was something like the billionth solar eclipse my dad has seen. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329/7 "2006-03-29T21:20:07Z")
> [@Sophistry and Illusion](#): > > Well, that was extremely cool. I’m quite envious. We saw nothing here, of course. > [@Sophistry and Illusion](#): > > At peak, I would guesstimate that the sun was at least 80% eclipsed. In Beirut the maximum obscuration was 86.1%, according to that link ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-going-to-be-able-to-view-todays-total-solar-eclipse-29-march/350329/8 "2006-03-30T07:47:21Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > In Beirut the maximum obscuration was 86.1%, according to that link D’oh! I didn’t scroll down far enough to see that chart.