SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A partial solar eclipse was visible in San Diego Thursday, blocking out nearly half of the sun and wowing people at a viewing event at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.
The path of the moon began to block the sun about 2:15 p.m. and gradually built to its height about 3:30 p.m. While the cloudless sky remained bright in downtown San Diego, the edges of shadows from trees and buildings were noticeably muted.
"The last partial eclipse that was visible in San Diego happened in 2012, and the next one won't be until August 2017, so they're pretty rare," the museum's astronomer, Lisa Will, told Fox 5 San Diego.
She said the next eclipse will be seen as a full eclipse in other parts of the U.S.
More than 100 people stopped by the plaza outside of the museum to watch the progress of the eclipse through pinhole viewers, telescopes and special shade glasses. Scientists urged people to not look directly at the sun, because that can cause permanent eye damage.