How to Watch a Live Stream of the Rare Sunrise Eclipse on Saturday and Catch a Glimpse of Solar ‘Devil Horns’
Early risers can observe a partial solar eclipse in areas of eastern North America on March 29, given clear skies and proper eye protection
If you’re in the right place at the right time, the sunrise will look extra spectacular on Saturday, as a partially eclipsed sun peeks over the horizon. Across parts of northeastern North America, the sun and moon will rise together, with the moon obscuring some of the star.
This eclipse will have no period of darkness, known as totality. But for those who don’t sleep through it, the event offers the chance for a truly rare sighting that may look like devil horns on the horizon.
Here’s what to know about the “sunrise eclipse” and how to catch a view of it, both in-person and online.
What is a partial solar eclipse?
When the Earth, moon and sun come into close enough alignment for the moon to block out some of the sun’s light, sky watchers are treated to a solar eclipse. On Saturday, that alignment won’t be perfect—so the star’s surface won’t be fully covered. Instead, the new moon will appear to take a “bite” out of the sun in a partial eclipse, and the size of that bite will depend on your location.
Since this eclipse has no phase of totality, there will be no safe moment to take off your eclipse glasses. Wear them at all times when viewing the sun—regular sunglasses are not enough, NASA notes. And don’t try to look at the eclipse through an unprotected camera, binoculars or telescope, even while wearing the solar glasses—those lenses will concentrate the sun’s rays and can cause eye damage through the glasses.
Don’t have eclipse glasses on hand? You can construct your own pinhole projector to indirectly view the event.
Saturday’s eclipse comes shortly after the total lunar eclipse that bathed the moon in a blood-red glow over North America on March 14. That’s because solar and lunar eclipses show up in pairs—two weeks apart. They also occur in “seasons” about every six months. Later this year, another duet of eclipses will grace the skies in September. But the solar eclipse this weekend will have a larger portion of the sun obscured.
Where can you see the partial solar eclipse?
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From the United States, several areas of the northeast and mid-Atlantic will have some view of the spectacle. But the level of coverage varies dramatically: Sky watchers in Portland, Maine, will see 64 percent coverage, while those in Washington, D.C., will see 1 percent of the sun’s surface obscured, per NPR’s Chandelis Duster. (Search for your city here.)
Western Europe will glimpse a partial eclipse during mid-morning, local time, and parts of the Caribbean and West Africa will also fall in the moon’s outer shadow. After four hours of sweeping across the planet, the eclipse’s path will end over northern Siberia.
For the best view, however, eclipse chasers will be heading to Canada. There, the eclipse will reach its maximum coverage—a 93 percent eclipse in Nunavik, northern Quebec, on the eastern side of Hudson Bay. Halifax (83 percent), St. John’s (83 percent) and Montreal (47 percent) might also offer good views in eastern Canada, per NASA.
Spots along the coast are a good bet, since the ocean offers a clean horizon to the east, where the sun will be rising. In general, “the best views will be from a coastal location as far north as possible,” as Jamie Carter writes for Live Science.
What is a rare “double sunrise,” also known as “solar horns”?
In a few locations along the eclipse’s path, viewers will get a rare glimpse of a phenomenon known as a “double sunrise.” This happens when the moon blocks part of the sun as it comes up, leaving an illuminated crescent at the bottom of the star, like a smile. The two points on each end of the “grin” will emerge over the horizon first, giving the appearance of devil horns.
Though such a sight is uncommon, it also happened during a partial solar eclipse in Qatar in 2019, when a photographer captured the stunning moment on camera. Another appeared over North America in June 2021.
This time, areas of Maine as well as parts of New Brunswick and Quebec, Canada, will have a chance to see the devil horns—given the right timing, an unobstructed view of the horizon and clear skies. From the U.S., viewers at Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec, Maine, could observe the double sunrise, and that site will see an 83 percent eclipse.
How to watch an eclipse live stream
If you don’t have any travel plans in place and won’t be in the path of the moon’s shadow, you can watch the spectacle online from the comfort of your home.
Saturday morning, Time and Date is offering a live stream beginning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time. It will jump around, geographically, showing views from sites across North America and Europe.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich will also run a stream—and this one is from London, where astronomer Greg Brown will share the science behind the event. You can tune into that feed beginning at 6 a.m. Eastern.
Another perk of a live stream? The video should be available later, allowing sleepy sky watchers to tune in for spectacle at a more reasonable time of day.