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WHERE’S THE PARTY?
GREAT AMERICAN August 21, 2017
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Is an eclipse event happening near you? If you live along the moon shadow’s path, it’s quite probable. Check out this newspaper’s calendar for info, and go to eclipse2017.nasa. gov/event-locations.
10
things to know about the total solar eclipse By More Content Now
Something rare and awesome is about to happen in the U.S. On Aug. 21 there will be a total solar eclipse, and if you live in the path of totality, you will have the opportunity to have your day turned to night as the moon will totally block out the sun. Here are 10 things you should know about the event.
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The total solar eclipse will take place around 10:16 a.m. PDT in Oregon, 11:46 a.m. CDT in Missouri and 1 p.m. EDT in South Carolina.
Along the “path of totality” — where the eclipse will be seen the best — the total solar eclipse will last for about 2 1/2 minutes or less.
The path of totality will darken the skies from Oregon to South Carolina.
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The total solar eclipse will cast a 70-mile wide shadow.
Those outside the path of totality will witness a partial solar eclipse — rest assured, it will still be cool.
The last total solar eclipse viewed from the contiguous U.S. was Feb. 26, 1979.
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The total solar eclipse of June 8, 1918, crossed a similar path, traveling from Washington to Florida.
Total solar eclipses occur approximately once every 18 months, but it depends where on Earth you are if you have a chance to see them.
The next annular solar eclipse that can be seen in the U.S. will be Oct. 14, 2023, and will be visible from Northern California to Florida.
10 The next total solar eclipse will be visible from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024.
Many safe ways to view the eclipse By Peter Becker More Content Now
On Aug. 21, the sun will be partially eclipsed by the moon all over the nation; along a narrow track from coast to coast, will the sun be totally eclipsed. For most of America, if you use special precautions to safely look, the sun will appear shaped like a crescent, as the invisible moon slowly passes part way in front. The sun is much too bright to look at directly without special precaution. Looking at the sun with unfiltered binoculars or a telescope would blind a person. Fortunately, using solar filters or indirect means to see a projected image on a screen, you can examine our star safely on any sunny day. Without a telescope, you can use special solar filters that are mounted in eyeglass frames. Several companies are selling these in anticipation of the August eclipse. They are typically inexpensive. You can search online and shop around for “eclipse glasses” or “eclipse shades.” Note, the glasses are only to be used with eyes alone. They are NOT safe for the intense focus of a telescope or even binoculars. Special solar filters are available that fit over the front of the telescope or binoculars. Never use these filters, however, over the eyepiece. The focused rays can split
the filter and burn your retina! On any sunny day you can see the sun safely in a variety of other ways: • With a pin hole in a closed window shade, the sun will cast a small, dim image inside the darkened room, which you can catch on a white cardboard screen. This is an excellent way to see the crescent shape of the partially eclipsed sun on eclipse day. • Similarly, you can make a shoe box viewer with a pinhole on one end and a white screen on the other; the image will be very small. • Another variation is to cap a long cardboard tube that held wrapping paper. Put a pinhole in the center of the cap. Rest the tube on your shoulder with the cap facing the sun and your back to the sun. Hold a white cardboard sheet in front of the open end of the tube, to see the solar image. • Any tiny hole will do. Try this the next sunny day: Make a nearly clenched fist, leaving only a very narrow space; sunlight can be cast right on the palm of your other hand. Also look under a leafy tree. This is most amazing during a partial eclipse. The hundreds of tiny holes left between overlapping leaves will project hundreds of crescent suns on the ground. Hint: Lay a white sheet on the shaded grass for the best view. • With a small round mirror, or a larger one mostly covered up with
paper leaving a small, round hole, you can reflect a sharp image of the sun on a white screen set up (or a white wall) in a shadowed area. • Using a telescope or binoculars, you can safely project a magnified image of the sun onto a white screen. Never use the small “finder scope” to look through, to line it up with the sun. Instead, adjust your telescope by watching the shadow of the tube; once it becomes round, you have targeted the sun. Hold white cardboard several inches away from the eyepiece. You may need to slowly adjust the tube but the sun’s image will come onto the screen; focus and look for any dark sunspots, or during the eclipse, watch how the crescent progresses while the invisible Moon passes in front. NOTE: Be careful if children are around. Cover up or remove the finder scope, and do not let ANYONE look through the telescope unless there is a safe solar filter properly attached. • Use a Sunspotter. This marvelous device was invented and patented by my late friend Daniel R. Janosik Sr. in the late 1970s. He made over 1,000 of these in his home near Hawley, Pennsylvania, and sold them to schools and individuals across the country. His first version was cube-shaped. The second and most successful version was shaped like a triangle and open to see inside. It uses lenses and mirrors to conveniently
You may safely project a small image of the sun through a pinhole onto a white card. NASA/Stanford Solar Center
WIKIPEDIA
project a sharp, magnified image of the sun onto a white screen inside the device. It’s handy for group observing. After he died in 1995, a science education company bought the rights to improve the design, make and sell them. For more information on seeing the sun safely, visit eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety.
When and where to see path of totality, from anywhere By More Content Now
Everyone in North America will be able to see the solar eclipse Aug. 21, but only a few sites will see totality — when the moon completely covers our view of the sun. For those of you not in that arc between Oregon and South Carolina — and several accounts say lodging is booked and roads will be congested in that area of the country, so research before you head out
— there are a few places to watch coverage of the total eclipse: • NASA will live-stream at nasa. gov/eclipselive, with footage from 11 spacecraft, the International Space Station, high-altitude weather balloons and more. NASA TV will also broadcast footage, though information on where and when was not yet available. Check back at eclipse2017. nasa.gov/nasa-tv. Note: This footage will be the basis for most other live-streams on TV and online.
• The Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco will offer live streams on its website and apps. See exploratorium.edu/eclipse for details. • The world clock site Time and Date will also live-stream the eclipse, at timeanddate.com/live. • The Science Channel will cover the eclipse live from Oregon starting around 1:20 p.m. EDT and provide footage from other locations along the path of totality, ending around 3 p.m. EDT. Later that day
it will air a special with footage of the eclipse, at 9 p.m. EDT/PDT. • YouTube and Ustream.tv likely will have video feeds as well. If you’re wondering what the eclipse will look like in your neighborhood, check out Google’s eclipsemega. movie/simulator. Type in your city and state to see an animation of when the eclipse will happen and what you’ll see, and you can access maps of the parts of the country that will be in shadow for a couple of minutes.