‘What’s being called, “The most photographed astronomical event in history,” will take place on Monday in the form of a total eclipse of the sun. The moon will physically block out the sun and the moon’s shadow will cut a path across the continental United States according to Adam Johanson, Assistant Professor of Physics, Delta State University.
Johanson said, “We won’t see the moon block out the sun completely, we’ll see part of the moon block out the sun.” He said the Cleveland area will likely only experience about a 90 percent blockage, but if you’re willing to travel a little to the north, he expects Nashville to experience 100 percent block out.
Eclipses are not rare, “They happen from time to time,” he said. The main thing about this one is the path; it will be accessible to so many people. Lots of people should be able to see the eclipse, everyone in North America plus parts of South America, Africa, and Europe will see at least a partial solar eclipse. The narrow path of totality, which begins in Oregon and stretches to South Carolina will pass through portions of 14 states.
A NASA website, eclipse2017, stated that the total and preceding and subsequent partial block outs could last up to about three hours from beginning to end, with the longest period of complete blockage said to be about two minutes and 40 seconds.
The Wiley Planetarium on Delta State’s campus will host a viewing event for Monday’s eclipse, outside of Caylor Hall, that’s open to the public. It will start at 11:55 a.m. although Johanson expects that the 90 percent block out won’t be reached until around 1:25 p.m. The presentation should be complete by 2:50 p.m. and he’s hoping for clear weather so they’ll be able to see it.
They will furnish special glasses for each visitor plus a few telescopes, he said. And in the event of rain, they will have a special presentation inside of the planetarium so the visit wouldn’t be a total loss.
For those who are unable to attend the Delta State event, Johanson said solar eclipse glasses, made with a special film filter to block harmful exposure, are available for purchase online, but be wary of cheap knock-offs.
Johanson also offered a few safety admonitions, such as, don’t ever look at the sun directly, unless you have the proper eye protection, sunglasses are generally not safe for the eclipse and homemade devices also may not be safe.
He stressed that it was a good idea to take advantage of this opportunity to see the eclipse, “It’s a cool event,” he said. The last time the contiguous U.S. saw a total eclipse was in 1979.
