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What is the difference between a solar and lunar eclipse? 
When are the next solar and lunar eclipses? 
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  • Christmas Day Eclipse (2000)
    A partial solar eclipse will be visible in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean on Christmas Day. The eclipse happens around sunrise in the west and around midday in the east; the times depend on your location. The farther northeast you are, the longer and deeper the eclipse will be. In California only a small nick will be taken out of the Sun's edge, but in New England the Sun will dwindle to a thick crescent.

    City

    Time of Maximum
    (local time)

    Magnitude* (%)

    Atlanta

    12:25 p.m.

    45

    Austin

    10:54 a.m.

    30

    Baltimore

    12:42 p.m.

    54

    Chicago

    11:17 a.m.

    55

    Dallas

    10:57 a.m.

    35

    Denver

    9:44 a.m.

    40

    Detroit

    12:27 p.m.

    57

    El Paso

    9:38 a.m.

    24

    Hartford

    12:49 p.m.

    57

    Houston

    11:00 a.m.

    31

    Indianapolis

    12:20 p.m.

    53

    Little Rock

    11:07 a.m.

    42

    Los Angeles

    8:23 a.m.

    15

    Miami

    12:38 p.m.

    32

    Minneapolis

    11:06 a.m.

    56

    Philadelphia

    12:45 p.m.

    55

    Phoenix

    9:30 a.m.

    21

    Portland, ME

    12:53 p.m.

    59

    St. Louis

    11:11 a.m.

    49

    San Antonio

    10:53 a.m.

    27

    Seattle

    8:29 a.m.

    37

    Washington, DC

    12:41 p.m.

    54

    *Magnitude indicates the percentage of the Sun's diameter covered by the Moon

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