Experience a partial solar eclipse at a free viewing party on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The event is held between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., with peak visibility at about noon, in the Cunningham Hall parking lot, located at the corner of Cramer Street and Hartford Avenue.

Because looking at the eclipse can cause eye damage, special free NASA-approved glasses will be available. Visitors also can take in a free planetarium show. There is a show every 30 minutes starting at 12:30 p.m. in UWM’s Manfred Olson Planetarium (Physics Building, Room 139). Shows are first come first served. Continuous rain could hamper outdoor viewing, but the planetarium’s shows will go on.

Solar eclipses happen when the moon comes directly between the sun and Earth during its orbit of Earth. It casts a shadow on the Earth and partially covers our view of the sun. This shadow affects a very small portion of the Earth, so although a solar eclipse can happen somewhere on Earth every year, it is a rare event for a given location. The next one visible in the Midwest occurs in April 2024, but after that, there won’t be another one until 2044.

For more information, contact planetarium@uwm.edu.