Moon or clouds, eclipse on for today

A partial eclipse of the sun will occur today, but catching it will be up to the weather.

A storm expected to drop snow in the valleys this morning will do more to obscure the sun in Western Nevada than the moon today.

"I don't think we're going to see too much clearing," said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Deutschendorf. "It looks like it will be an eclipse by clouds."

It wouldn't have been much of an eclipse, anyway, according to Keith Johnson, associate director of Fleischmann Planetarium.

"This will not be one of the great eclipses," said Johnson. "Only about 10 percent of the visible disk of the sun will be obscured by the moon. It's likely you won't even notice any darkening of the landscape."

Should a break in the clouds occur, the eclipse will be visible from just after noon to just before 2 p.m.

"If you're lucky there may be an occasional break in the overcast," Deutschendorf said.

A storm was on track to bring snow into Western Nevada.

"It should really start picking up in the valleys mainly toward early morning, when the rain will change to snow," Deutschendorf said.

The heaviest precipitation will last until mid-morning with snow showers through the day.

Watching an eclipse requires special eye protection, especially since most of the sun's disk will be visible.

"Most of the sun's brilliant disk will still be visible so that even a brief glimpse can cause some damage to the unprotected eye," planetarium director Arthur Johnson said.

Planetarium staff will set up a telescope with a filter so visitors can see the eclipse.

Fleischmann Planetarium is located on the campus the University of Nevada, Reno.

For more information, call 784-4812.