ASHEVILLE - What’s the difference between 99 percent and 100 percent?

When you’re talking about the total solar eclipse, it’s the difference between night and day.

As the Great American Solar Eclipse slides across the country Aug. 21 in a 60-70-mile band, parts of six counties in Western North Carolina will be in the zone of totality, which means people in those places will experience 100 percent of the solar eclipse.

Buncombe County is not one of them.

Although Asheville, the most populous city in WNC, will experience 99 percent of the eclipse, that’s quite short of the whole enchilada.

Related news: All of our eclipse coverage here.

“When it’s 99 percent, think about the moon when it’s just a sliver in the sky,” said Brian Hart, Lookout Observatory manager at UNC Asheville. “It will be a similar-sized sliver of the sun, a tiny line of light you can see.”

Think of it as the total eclipse as seeing a show on Broadway, and a partial eclipse as seeing it off-Broadway, he said.

Part of the thrill of this rare astronomical event, which in WNC will be at full eclipse about 2:30 p.m., is the dramatic switch from day to night, when stars will pop out and the weather will change.

“It will still be dramatic. It will be dark enough to see Venus and Jupiter. It will still be a really cool experience to see that 99 percent eclipse, but you won’t be able to see the sun’s corona and all the stars in the sky,” Hart said.

City lights might also diminish the effect. At night it’s always much brighter in the city than in rural areas. And in Asheville, as it darkens in the middle of the day, street lights will come on, further blotting out stars.

“The temperature should drop, but not quite as much as in the path of totality. Weather could change dramatically in terms of wind dying down, and generally just before the eclipse or just after, the clouds will dissipate because there’s nothing to keep that convective heat process going on,” he said.

“I imagine animals, including dogs and cats, will begin behaving strangely because their internal clocks will be turned off.”

The moon will first start to cover the sun over Asheville at 1:08:13 p.m. It will continue to darken until “max 99.2 percent” at 2:37:42 p.m. and last just an instant. The moon will leave the sun at 4:01:21 p.m.

Since Aug. 21 is the first day of classes at UNCA, class times will be condensed to 8 a.m.-12:45 p.m. to allow students and faculty to see the eclipse at a private event on the quad.

The Asheville Museum of Science, Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools will hold a public eclipse viewing and celebration from noon-3 p.m. at Pack Square Park with music, food and hands-on eclipse related activities.

Even at 99 percent, specially coated eclipse viewing glasses are necessary.

“Think about looking at the full moon for a while, you’ll start to see spots before your eyes. Even at 99 percent, the sun is 10,000 times brighter than the full moon.Staring at it will damage your retinas, possibly permanently.”

See more solar eclipse news at http://avlne.ws/2vJn6iw.