Sunrise Solar Eclipse on March 29th for Eastern North America

Eclipses always come in pairs: A solar eclipse occurs either about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

During a lunar eclipse, the Moon crosses the Sun-Earth orbital plane at full Moon phase. With Sun, Earth, and Moon in near-perfect alignment, the Moon slides into Earth's shadow. It did this in majestic and colorful fashion during the recent total eclipse on March 13–14. Two weeks later at new phase, the Moon will still lie close enough to the Sun-Earth plane to stoke a deep partial solar eclipse on Saturday, March 29th, for observers in the northeastern U.S., eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, Northwest Africa, and northwestern Russia.

At greatest eclipse, the Moon will cloak 93.1% of the Sun from Nunavik, which comprises the northern third of Canada's Québec province. Northern Maine will have similarly impressive views with 86% of the Sun covered — the maximum possible from the U.S. — shortly after local sunrise. Weather permitting, eclipse-goers will thrill to a thin solar crescent rising "horns first" around 6:15 a.m. local time. For all U.S. locations, the Sun will rise already in eclipse and, from most locations, moving out of eclipse. Finding an unobstructed east-northeast horizon will be a priority if you want to catch as many precious minutes as possible.

The Moon will cover varying amounts of the Sun depending on location. The farther south along the Eastern Seaboard you are, the smaller the obscuration. Bostonians will see just over half the Sun (57%) eclipsed, while in New York City, the percentage drops to 27%. Farther south and west in Washington D.C. the Moon consumes just 3% — barely a nibble! Check the table below for additional cities and times.

In the eastern Canadian Provinces, Iceland, and Europe, the eclipse begins after sunup. The farther east you travel, the shallower the eclipse will be. In St. John’s, Newfoundland, the Moon blots out 83% of the solar disk. Dubliners will see 41% covered at maximum, while in Vienna, the Moon takes just a 6% bite. To obtain detailed information for any locale, consult Xavier Jubier's interactive eclipse map.

There should be some incredible photo opportunities of the eclipsed Sun at sunrise for U.S. and Canadian observers. Not only does refraction near the horizon flatten the solar disk, but mirages and other distortions induced by atmospheric layers of different density can create additional images, scalloped edges, or even stacked layers like a cosmic lasagna. If you can observe from along the ocean or a large lake with a flat horizon, you'll have access to the greatest diversity of low-altitude phenomena, including the Sun's reflection and potentially the green flash.

Whether observing or photographing the solar eclipse, always use a safe, undamaged solar filter to protect your eyes from direct sunlight. That said, you can briefly photograph the Sun safely with a DSLR or mirrorless camera within a couple minutes of sunrise, when the atmosphere most strongly attenuates the Sun's light. Warning — do NOT look through the viewfinder. Instead, set your camera to live view and focus and compose using the camera's backscreen. That way you're not staring directly into the Sun. A few fast-shutter-speed exposures of the Sun will not damage your sensor. Although I can't speak to every camera, I've used both Canon DSLR (model 5D Mark IV) and mirrorless (R6) bodies to photograph sunrises and sunsets without any issues.

But beware. Once the Sun climbs more than a degree or two above the horizon, it becomes overwhelmingly bright, so please revert to using a safe filter to protect your camera and your eyes at that time.

Circumstances around the Planet

In addition to horizon phantasms and watching the Moon gradually cover and uncover potential sunspot groups present at eclipse time, observers should also be alert for twilight effects. In northern Maine and along the Canadian border where obscuration will be maximal, morning twilight may appear to lag or seem darker than normal. Once the Sun is up, if more than about half of it is covered, daylight will have a distinctly different feel. Some call it "thin." I describe it as Mars-like, since it always feels like I'm on a more distant planet, where sunlight is weaker.

Will the birds, normally vociferous around sunrise this time of year, react to the slender Sun by turning down the volume? During the March total lunar eclipse, a male woodcock in a nearby open field was silent until the outgoing penumbral phase. As the light returned, he resumed his vocal and acrobatic flight display, ever hopeful to find a mate. May your hope for clear skies at eclipse time be met with success.