ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando area won’t be in the path of totality April 8 for the total solar eclipse, but a partial eclipse will be visible.
In Central Florida, roughly 65% of the sun will be blocked by the moon.
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Here’s when you need to be ready.
The partial solar eclipse for the Orlando area begins at 1:46 p.m.
The maximum eclipse for Central Florida will take place just after 3 p.m.
Then, the partial eclipse will end just at 4:17 p.m.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon moves in between the Earth and sun casting a shadow on our planet.
The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, but is also 400 times farther away. This is how the moon “blocks” the sun during a solar eclipse.
Why is the eclipse path moving from southwest to northeast?
You may be wondering from the map at the top of the story why the eclipse path is coming up from the southwest if the sun rises in the east.
This is because the path is that of the moon’s shadow and not the path of the sun. Earth rotates from west to east to “meet” the sun. The moon also rotates west to east. During an eclipse all three bodies are on the same plane making the west-to-east motion more apparent.
The shadow is sliding up from the south because the moon’s orbit around the earth is tilted.