How to see the "ring of fire" solar eclipse in Phoenix

Zoom in: The eclipse path will clip the northeastern edge of Arizona around 9:25am tomorrow, per the Great American Eclipse. And those of us in the Valley will get a glimpse of a partial eclipse around that time, with the peak expected at 9:31am, according to NASA's tracker.

• With a partial eclipse, only some of the sun will appear covered, giving it a crescent shape.

Be smart (and prompt): The ring of fire won't last long, with durations ranging from less than 90 seconds to around five minutes. And you need eclipse glasses to view it safely.

• Pick up a free pair Friday at a participating Valley library.

How it works: An annular solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth while it is at its farthest point from Earth.

• Because the moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the sun and doesn't completely cover it.
• This causes the moon to appear as a "dark disk on top of a larger, bright disk," creating the ring of fire effect, NASA said.