Parts of the USA will get to see a total solar eclipse on August 21. It was another total eclipse and teachers in my grade school were warning students every half hour, not to look to the sky because we would go blind. When the moon lines up between the sun and Earth, the moon will cast a shadow onto Earth. The event will reach its peak in Polson at 11:31 a.m.as the moon will obscure just under 89 percent of the suns surface. Those in this zone will see the eclipse in its totality (i.e., when the moon appears to cover the sun).
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For the last several weeks there has been a lot of hype surrounding the eclipse and its so-called path of “totality”. rightfully so, since this will be the first coast-to-coast solar eclipse in 99 years.
“So it enters a little bit north and travels a little bit south, but it crosses the entire country”, he says.
The only safe way to look directly at the sun-even in a partial eclipse-is through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” (see photo above), hand-held solar viewers, or welder’s shade #’s 12-14. The sun and moon are acting together, and so we’re having unusually strong tidal conditions. We are hoping at least 100 people show up for lunch, but we have enough glasses for 500 people..
The Adler Planetarium was giving away free eclipse glasses Thursday afternoon in Grant Park, starting at 2 p.m.at the corner of Roosevelt and Indiana.
The best way to avoid this is to wear eclipse-viewing glasses, also called “solar filters”.
Unfortunately here in CT we will only experience a partial solar eclipse, this will begin at 2:45pm. It plans live-streaming of the eclipse beginning at 1 p.m. EDT with images from satellites, research aircraft, high-altitude balloons and specially modified telescopes. “I urge everyone to safely experience the eclipse; it’s a wonderful opportunity for families and teachers to share the experience with children”.
Free, 2 p.m., Boston Central Library, 700 Boylston St., bpl.org.
But with all of the excitement around the astronomical event, it might be easy to overlook the extreme health risks involved with staring at the sun. “Spend about 30 seconds looking at it with your eyes ’cause you’re not going to see it again y’know?” The maximum eclipse visible starts at 1:04 p.m.
The library stresses that anyone using glasses not obtained from them should make sure those glasses meet safety specifications before viewing the sun.
But Hayek said in an interview there were other glasses passes out by the library that are not covered by the warning. We’ll also be streaming it on our website.
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Other Lawrence-area school districts are staying open for the eclipse as well.
