On Monday August 21 a historically large portion of the country will be able to witness a total solar eclipse, which means that the moon will totally block out the Earth’s vision of the Sun.

If you find yourself in the path of the total eclipse, which can be found here, you will experience total darkness for over two minutes in the middle of the day.

If you are in the Triangle, according to Sr. Associate Dean for Natural Sciences at UNC Dr. Chris Clemens, you will still witness a sizable portion of the Sun covered by the moon.

“People who stay in the Triangle area are going to see about 93% of the sun blotted out by the moon as it moves between our spot on the Earth and the sun,” says Clemens.

While a 93% solar eclipse will still be a noticeable event, Clemens says that travelling to the path of the total eclipse is worth the trip.

“If you’re able to get to the narrow path where the eclipse is total, it could easily be the most memorable event of your life if you’ve never seen one,” says Clemens.

Although it is possible to safely view the partial eclipse, Chair of Ophthalmology at UNC Dr. Don Budenz warns that unprotected eye contact with the eclipse could cause permanent damage to your eyes.

“Anytime you look at the sun your eyes are at risk for either temporary or permanent vision loss,” says Budenz. “Those bright light rays are being focused by your eye right on the center of the retina that’s responsible for our wonderful 20/20 vision.”

Budenz warns that simply wearing over the counter or even polarized sunglasses will not provide adequate protection from the light rays of the eclipse.

“There’s going to be a temptation for people to watch the eclipse with the naked eye or perhaps regular, over the counter sunglasses, and that will result in temporary or permanent vision loss,” says Budenz. “So we recommend that everyone purchase a very inexpensive pair of eclipse glasses.”

If you want to see the total eclipse while staying in the Triangle, the Morehead Planetarium will be showing a live stream of the event along with food trucks and other activities. Solar eclipse glasses are offered with the purchase of your ticket.

Astronomy Educator at the Morehead Planetarium Amy Sayle says she has seen more excitement for this eclipse than any other Astronomy event in her 20 years of working in the field.

“Any given spot on earth can expect to experience a total solar eclipse only about once every 375 years, on average,” says Sayle. “So it is a rare thing.”

You can find more information on the event at the Morehead Planetarium here.