What will you be doing 365 days from now? Hopefully you'll be under a cloudless sky watching a solar eclipse.
A solar eclipse, as a reminder, is what happens when the Moon crosses in front of the Sun. The Sun can be partially or totally covered. This only happens when the Moon is in its "New" phase. We don't have solar eclipses every New Moon because the Moon's orbit is tilted relative to the Earth's - some months the Moon is "above" the Sun, some months "below." Twice a year everything lines up for the eclipse.
Unlike a lunar eclipse, which is visible for over half the planet, a solar eclipse is visible over a smaller portion of the surface, and for a total eclipse the path is quite narrow - about 100 miles wide.
So total solar eclipses are a big deal - people travel around the world to see them. There hasn't been a total solar eclipse anywhere in the continental U.S. since 1979. That drought ends next August 21. As if to make up for the recent lack of eclipses - we get a second one in April of 2024!
The 2017 total solar eclipse path enters the U.S. in Oregon, goes through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, a small piece of Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and exits into the ocean off of South Carolina. See the eclipse path here:
If you're not on the path of totality, the rest of the "Lower 48" will get a partial eclipse. Most of New England will have at least a 60% eclipse. Of course that's still not enough for direct viewing of the Sun. In upcoming posts I'll give more information about the eclipse and how to observe it safely.
This year, the Blue Star Planetarium will deliver programs to school and other youth groups and will be discussing next Summer's eclipse. For more information about the traveling planetarium, visit: www.bluestarplanetarium.com
Any questions about the planetarium or the eclipse - email bluestarplanetarium@gmail.com
Marc Rouleau,
owner/educator
A solar eclipse, as a reminder, is what happens when the Moon crosses in front of the Sun. The Sun can be partially or totally covered. This only happens when the Moon is in its "New" phase. We don't have solar eclipses every New Moon because the Moon's orbit is tilted relative to the Earth's - some months the Moon is "above" the Sun, some months "below." Twice a year everything lines up for the eclipse.
Unlike a lunar eclipse, which is visible for over half the planet, a solar eclipse is visible over a smaller portion of the surface, and for a total eclipse the path is quite narrow - about 100 miles wide.
So total solar eclipses are a big deal - people travel around the world to see them. There hasn't been a total solar eclipse anywhere in the continental U.S. since 1979. That drought ends next August 21. As if to make up for the recent lack of eclipses - we get a second one in April of 2024!
The 2017 total solar eclipse path enters the U.S. in Oregon, goes through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, a small piece of Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and exits into the ocean off of South Carolina. See the eclipse path here:
If you're not on the path of totality, the rest of the "Lower 48" will get a partial eclipse. Most of New England will have at least a 60% eclipse. Of course that's still not enough for direct viewing of the Sun. In upcoming posts I'll give more information about the eclipse and how to observe it safely.
This year, the Blue Star Planetarium will deliver programs to school and other youth groups and will be discussing next Summer's eclipse. For more information about the traveling planetarium, visit: www.bluestarplanetarium.com
Any questions about the planetarium or the eclipse - email bluestarplanetarium@gmail.com
Marc Rouleau,
owner/educator
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