Annular solar eclipse to pass Ann Arbor during Michigan football game – What to expect

A solar eclipse during the UM game? Sort of

It won't be a total solar eclipse and it won't occur on our side of United States, but part of the sun will be blotted out by the moon during the University of Michigan-Indiana football game.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - An annular solar eclipse will cover parts of the United States on Saturday, and Michigan will get a bit of a peek of it.

What is a solar eclipse?

The earth rotates around the sun, and the moon rotates around the earth.

Sometimes the moon lines up directly between the sun and the earth, blocking out the sun. That is a solar eclipse.

There are two kinds of solar eclipses though because the moon's path is an oval, not a perfect circle.

Sometimes, it is slightly closer to the earth, so it blocks almost all the sun. This is a total solar eclipse.

Other times, it is farther away from the earth and does not block the whole sun. This leaves a ring of light, often referred to as a ring of fire. These eclipses are annular eclipses.

An annular solar eclipse is what the United States will see Saturday.

What to expect

The annular solar eclipse will be mainly over the Southwest part of the country, though Michigan will get a glimpse of it.

Michigan will have nearly 40% annular solar eclipse. This means the sun will be small and look almost like a fingernail.

If you're headed to Ann Arbor for the Michigan football game, you'll be able to see it at 11:45 a.m., 15 minutes before kickoff. It will peak at 1:04 p.m. After, the move will start moving out of the path of the sun.