Ocean County residents will have a chance to see the moon pass in front of the sun Wednesday afternoon as a partial solar eclipse sweeps across the state.

The eclipse is part of a larger total solar eclipse that will be visible along a narrow path stretching across Greenland, Iceland and parts of Spain. New Jersey is outside the path of totality, meaning the moon will cover only a portion of the sun as seen from the state.

The partial eclipse will begin in New Jersey at about 1:05 p.m. Wednesday, August 12, and end at approximately 2:39 p.m., according to eclipse calculations from NASA. The exact timing and amount of the sun covered will vary slightly depending on location.

In northern New Jersey, including Newark and Jersey City, the eclipse will begin shortly after 1 p.m. and reach its maximum at approximately 1:53 to 1:54 p.m. About 9% of the sun will be obscured in those areas. In southern New Jersey, the eclipse will be somewhat less pronounced, with Atlantic City seeing about 7% coverage and maximum eclipse around 1:56 p.m.

Even during a partial eclipse, the uncovered portion of the sun remains bright enough to cause serious and potentially permanent eye damage. Ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for viewing the sun.

Cloud cover could interfere with viewing, but even if the eclipse cannot be seen from a particular location, NASA plans to provide live coverage of the event online beginning at 1:15 p.m. EDT.

Totality will be visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland and Spain, where the moon will completely block the sun for a brief period.