You mean to tell us you didn't set an alarm and get up before 6 am today to check out the partial solar eclipse? We're right there with you. Good thing there's some video footage you can check out -- and you don't have to bother making one of those pinhole viewer things.

Check it out in the video player below.

Get our free mobile app

So what is the Solar Eclipse?

An eclipse is an unusual phenomenon where the moon passes between the earth and the sun. That happened early this morning, beginning at about 5:50 am, but as we explained a few days ago, visibility in our area would only be so-so.

Visibility in Michigan

Although visibility was expected to be better for people in the Northeast section of the US and Canadian cities like Ottawa and Montreal, we actually got to see a rather spectacular image of the moon blocking approximately 60% of the sun.

The weather cooperated and Detroit TV station WDIV actually got a great look at the eclipse early this morning.

Meteorologist Paul Gross explained the phenomenon as it played out on live TV this morning.

"So you're looking at the sun here, that chunk that you see taken out on the left, that's actually the moon that's partially in front of the sun," Gross said. "The moon is moving from right to left on your screen so the eclipse is now in its waning stages."

If you want even more footage of the eclipse, NASA has a YouTube video that runs about 90 minutes. It shows a spectacular view of this morning's eclipse, with the action beginning about 30 minutes in.

Next Visible Eclipse

Experts say the next occurrence of a solar eclipse will be on October 14, 2023, when another Ring of Fire will be visible. This one should be visible to a much larger swath of the United States.

UP NEXT: 25 Best Burger Joints in Michigan

Check out these 50 fascinating facts about dogs:

More From 94.9 WMMQ