North America will experience a total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, and Arizona Science Center in Phoenix is planning a free viewing party for it.

The phenomenon is where the sun and moon cross paths and cast darkness onto the Earth.

Pheonix residents will be lucky enough to see 64% coverage between 10:08 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. with maximum coverage happening at 11:20 a.m.

The Science Center, downtown at 600 E. Washington St., will host a viewing party starting at 9 a.m. that day.

Staff will be on-site throughout the day offering solar-based activities and education, telescopes to look at the sky, and activities to teach about the rarest astronomical event in our solar system.

What to know:

• It’s crucial for anyone looking to watch the solar eclipse, to wear solar eclipse glasses – this will protect your eyes from any serious sun damage
• Some areas of Arizona and the Southwest including Texas will experience a total solar eclipse
• NASA will be firing three rockets at the eclipse – this is done in order to study what happens to the Earth’s atmosphere during an eclipse

Visit https://www.azscience.org/.