26 States Will See Today's Partial Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse will sweep across the Northern Hemisphere today, Aug. 12, and while the total eclipse stays confined to Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Portugal and Russia, skywatchers across parts of the northern U.S. and Alaska will catch a partial eclipse later today.

Where and When to See the Partial Eclipse in the U.S.

The moon will pass between the sun and Earth without lining up perfectly, giving the sun a crescent shape rather than blocking it entirely for most viewers. Across the contiguous U.S., the partial eclipse begins at 10:27 a.m. MDT in Montana and North Dakota and ends at 2:52 p.m. EDT in Maine, with the deepest coverage visible across northern New England, according to NASA.

Alaska gets the best view in the country, with more than 20% of the sun covered at maximum. Cities across New England and New York will see 10% to 20% coverage. In total, 26 states and Washington, D.C., fall within today's partial eclipse path: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.