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Utahns Seek Sweet Spot to View Eclipse

Science museum shops in Utah are running out of those special glasses that allow you to look directly at an eclipse. Utahns can expect to see a full or partial eclipse on Sunday evening depending on their location.

Utah's NASA ambassador Patrick Wiggins says he'll be heading to the tiny town of Kanarraville, just south of Cedar City to view the eclipse.

"People like me that really like symmetry, we're going to go to what's called the Center Line, which is right smack dab in the middle of what the locals in southern Utah are calling the sweet spot," said Wiggins.

If you're in the sweet spot, then when the eclipse reaches its maximum, the moon will be directly in front of the sun, and you will see a circle of light - or annulus. That's the ring of fire. Wiggins says the annulus will be visible in southern Utah from Cedar City to St George.

"From northern Utah, it's going to be a still pretty sizable eclipse of the sun, but it won't have that beautiful annularity to it," said Wiggins.

Astronomers warn that it's dangerous to look directly at an eclipse. They are advising people to use approved eclipse viewers or head to one of the viewing parties where there are instruments you can use.

MORE INFORMATION

The path of the annular solar eclipse

How maximum eclipse will look from several locations

Cedar City Tourist Bureau map of suggested locations to view the eclipse

How to build an eclipse viewer
 

Andrea Smardon is new at KUER, but she has worked in public broadcasting for more than a decade. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and news announcer for WGBH radio. While in Boston, she produced stories for Morning Edition, Marketplace Money, and The World. Her print work was published in The Boston Globe and Boston.com. Prior to that, she worked at Seattleââ
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